


I'm Starting to Scare Me

by Writer_of_Worlds



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Ahg who knows, Canon Divergent, Depression, F/M, Just watch me, Mentions of Suicide Ideation, Panic Attacks, Self-Insert, WHO'S WITH ME, do I need more than the major characters?, getoffmybackandletkorosenseilive, korosensei lives should I mention that, lots of fluff and some intermixed angst, major isolation, mentions of self harm ideation, mentions of suicidal/self harm intents, minimal character death but I do intend to kill some frickers off, self indulgent, subnautica-assassination-classroom crossover, we're gonna go off the rails and save an octopus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:55:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 36,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27877193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writer_of_Worlds/pseuds/Writer_of_Worlds
Summary: How long had it been?... Since she last spoke... Since she last felt... Since she last knew what it was like to be alive, not simply to live?... She wasn't even sure anymore. Dagger had been alone on this planet for so long... So when her teleportation ability finally acts up again, and she finds herself in the realm of Assassination Classroom... It's no wonder she leaps at the chance to actually do something with her life.It would be particularly splendid if a certain yellow octopus wasn't wary of her previous lack of existence in their reality...Well, there's only one way to figure this out.
Relationships: korosensei/self insert, korosensei/self-insert
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	1. Prologue

Time passed by at a snail’s pace, here. In the dim blue glow of the Ghost Leviathan Egg Tree, or the Egg Tree as she called it, a woman waited. She was sat on the floor, wearing what could only be considered a diver’s suit, complete with a helmet that rested near her flippered feet. There were orange lines all over the suit, embedded into the dark material. Her hair was scattered, pulled and tangled in so many manners that one could only guess what sort of rodents had been nesting in it. Her eyes were faint, nearly hollow, hazel hues shaded over by the blue of the humongous tree outside her home.

Semi-translucent blue manta rays swam through the water outside, unperturbed by the heat of the lands around them. She dared not swim outside, not without her proper defense. All she had for now was the Seamoth, which couldn’t properly defend her even a few feet down. She pulled up from her seated position, leaning down and pulling the flippers off her feet. Her skin was pale, a little peach in places where the sun had kissed it. Her hair was a sort of copper-brown in the light of her habitat. She had neglected to turn it off, but whether it was staring at her reflection or staring at the Egg Tree, it made no difference.

Her throat was dry. The heavens only knew how long she had been sitting there, but she had grown accustomed to the crack and creak of her joints when she arose from her seat. The jellyrays, as her scanner told her, were rather cute, so it was a little nice to see the creatures flash by outside. She stepped away, her every movement silent. The only sound was the hum of the lights within the habitat, and the swish of water outside.

A tablet appeared in her hand. She raised it, eyes manuevering over a presumed inventory with ease. Once she found what she was looking for, she tapped a finger against it... And a phone popped into her hand. She caught it with practiced ease as she walked, stashing the tablet milliseconds before it vanished from sight. The woman turned on the phone- an iPhone no less- nothing like the glass-screened tablet she’d just been using- and stared at the lock screen.

Resting there was an image. Five people in total, all smiling and grinning, one even laughing. She was in the image, at the bottom, more alive and healthy than now. Now, she was gaunt, a shadow of the smiling visage beneath. On either side of her were a boy and a girl- the girl looked nearly identical, but her hair was a touch longer, and she wore a choker whereas the woman had a simple necklace, with a small knife on the end. On her other side was the boy, a spitting image of the grown man above him, save the weight difference. He was currently putting bunny ears over her, laughing at the camera.

And above all three of them were two adults, wrinkled, hair just beginning to gray. They didn’t laugh like the ones below them, but they were smiling. The mother wore her signature shirt, which read ‘I love my husband’. Beside her, the man wore much the same- but it read ‘I love my wife’.

They all looked... So, so happy... The woman exhaled, unlocking the phone and clicking over to the settings menu. The WiFi was back... She stepped into a new room, down about three small steps, and over to a giant machine. It gurgled and groaned, before spitting out a bottle from its depths. The woman took it, uncapping the poor thing before gulping down a few mouthfuls.

All around her was glass, save the wall the machine was on. She could see the cavern’s edge outside, the bubbles that rose from the world below, the toxins that rested only a few feet from her flesh. She didn’t bother to consider that, if the glass broke, she would be 900 meters below the surface of the ocean... In a cavernous labyrinth... And surrounded by death.

Her drink complete, the woman put the bottle in her inventory- so it vanished from sight. She ran her phone over to her entertainment apps, finding the one she desired and immediately opening it. She eyed the title of the show she sought to watch for a moment.

‘Assassination Classroom’. It wasn’t a series she had any intent to complete, ever again.- But she knew she would watch it to near-completion, if only to see the kids and their hijinks again. Although, technically, it was all life-and-death... She exhaled.

For a moment, her mind drifted... Her eyes went from the waters outside, to the image on the screen.. And a faint glimmer of curiosity flickered across them.

She would need to get properly dressed first, just in case it worked... But if it _did_...

“.... Only... ‘ne way t’.... Fin’ ou’...” Yep, she hadn’t used her voice in a long, long time. She grasped at her throat, red instantly dusting her cheeks. But, it would be worth it- _if it worked_.


	2. Chapter 1: Roll Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [THERE WILL BE MAJOR CANON SPOILERS THROUGHOUT THIS STORY. IF YOU DO NOT WANT THE ENDING, BACKSTORY, ETC. OF ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM SPOILED, THEN PLEASE LEAVE NOW.]

Her head was pounding. That was obvious from the split second she was allowed even an inkling of awareness. The very next thing to hit her was... How eerie the world sounded, around her. There was light somewhere nearby, not provided from fluorescents based on the lack of hum, and... There was something else missing. It took a few seconds before it clicked into place. She couldn't hear the ocean, nor the cries of her beloved blue friends. Her head shot upright, which was met with black spots sprinkling around her vision like miniature explosions. She closed her eyes tight, rubbing at them to rid the sensation of pins and needles that somehow resided within her eyes.

"... Miss?" The voice was gruff, and fast. She sat upright in an instant, hand flying to where her dagger would usually be- only to find it not there. For that matter, she wasn't swimming, this wasn't the ocean, and she didn't even have on her usual diving gear. No mask decorated her face, there was no heavy weight on her back from the oxygen tank... There was just open air. The force of her movement sent her chair teetering backward. She threw a hand backward, hitting a wall and shoving herself forward. "... You're needed for debriefing in Class 3-E's homeroom. You... _Are_ the therapist and teacher aide, correct?" She had her hands on the desk, staring at the wood before her. A small paper was there, with a pencil by its side. The desk was shabby, at best, with a wobble-leg that was sure to destroy it in no time. A set of window panes rested on her left, showcasing the woods outside... And a mountain's side.

She glanced towards the one who had spoken. It was a man dressed in full-blown camo, carrying a long gun of some sort in his arms. He motioned to the door. She stood, instantly set on edge. This had to be a dream. He had said... 'Class 3-E'. That... Either she was dreaming, or this had worked. The pounding in her head refused to leave, giving her a few more spots of agony while she shuffled out into the hall. If this was real- which she doubted- then she was in the most dangerous school on the planet, for one. For another... She was the freakin' therapist/teacher aide?????- Okay, she could see the principal doing that to his students ( ~~he was a twit~~ ), but... Her? No, she hadn't even known human contact in two years. There was little to her in ways of dealing with others' emotional issues, let alone her own. Considering the principal, though... It was likely that he would hire someone who didn't fit the bill, or wasn't really set up for the task.

"Follow me." The military man stepped out of the room, and made his way down the corridor. Everything was wood, save the 'windows' of the interior, which were more like wax paper over holes. The floor creaked under the guard's foot.- Was he guard? Eh, who knew. He continued on until he was beside a door with a sign over it that read 'Class 3-E'. He opened the door and motioned for her to step inside. She did so, having to resist the immediate urge to reach for where she knew her tablet appeared when she sought it. If nothing else, she needed to keep her personal tech a secret- and that wouldn't work around the military. Once inside, she found herself face-to-face with a class of maybe twenty-five... No, counting it, it was twenty-six students. At the head stood four more men dressed in military gear, as well as a certain soon-to-be 'P. E. teacher' in a uniform. His hair was slicked back to a point, dark eyes narrowed to a dim line... Skin peach, and expression unreadable outside of 'I mean business'. He was mayyybe six feet tall, so he stood a little over herself, and his black business suit was accented by a white collared shirt underneath, alongside a black tie.

 **Karasuma**.

His eyes barely flicked in her direction. She was a little more caught off-guard by the being beside him, which easily towered over the other. He was nearly double the strict man's height, which made him a near-monster in size compared to herself. She blinked. He was wearing a black robe of some sort, with three lines of dark blue on either arm. He had an undershirt that was a deep, dark red, and a black tie hung from the shirt, with a crescent moon embedded in the front. His top was flipped over near the shoulders, allowing a gold-brown line of fabric to encircle him, almost like the outer ring of a target. But his outfit... Was definitely not what was the most attention-grabbing. No, this stranger- this absolute freakin' insane guy- was... Bright yellow. Like, 'cartoon-sun' yellow. A wide, toothy grin stretched his face, which was a sphere of the same color, and two black dots rested on either side- eyes?- Underneath his cloak (his uniform was definitely big enough for it) were many... Many... Tentacles. Even the sleeves of his outfit were sporting at least two tentacles a piece (thankfully he only had two sleeves), and resting at their ends were... Maaaybe two digits, alien in nature, nearly like the tiny antenna one would think of on such creatures. They were attached to two balls, which could have been his palms, that ran back into the main 'arm' before vanishing under his cloak. Faint stripes of grin flickered across his face.

 **Korosensei**.

... Okay, this had to be a dream. Nothing else it could be... Right? She- she really hoped this was all this was.

"Hello, how are you?" Korosensei spoke. His voice was just like in the English Dub- high, open, a bit on the silly side. "So, I'm the one who blew up the moon~..." God above, let her be dreaming. The entire class dropped their mouths, several shocked faces staring at the creature at the front of the room. A chorus of 'huh's' broke out. "Next year, I intend to do the same to the planet Earth! But nevermind that now, I'm going to be your new teacher! Isn't that exciting???" He sounded.. Very, very pumped up for this. She sincerely hoped this was all some mega-dream, since, otherwise, she was seriously going to die... Compared to the class and literally all of the teachers they'd have by the end of the year, her skills... Were lacking.

"... Uh..... I'm Karasuma, I'm from the Ministry of Defense. What uh... What I'm about to tell you, we in the business call 'classified'." How he was able to just stand there, not looking at all perturbed by the creature _made of nothing but tentacles_ in the room, was beyond her. He breathed in, slow and steady... Before releasing a sigh. "Aw Hell, I'll just come right out with it.- I'm gonna need you to kill this thing, for the sake of mankind."

"... Excuse me... Is this a joke?- Because that's the alien that blew up the m-" The student- an orange haired boy- was interrupted by Korosensei (although she guessed he had no name yet) screaming incoherently. It took a few milliseconds before his words became actual speech that could be understood.

"I AM AN EARTHLING, BORN AND BRED, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" She nearly jumped out of her skin and ran down the hall. After all her time on the water planet, any amount of loud noise was enough to startle her thoroughly.- After all, loud noises meant Reaper Leviathans, Warpers, Ghost Leviathans... Bad things, all around.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss the details at this juncture. I'll just say... He's telling the truth.... This threat is all we can make. As of March... He will obliterate the Earth." Despite knowing the validity of those claims, she still found her heart picking up pace, a slight panic. She just wanted to go back to her little Cyclops, watch the Reefbacks... But no, she had to be having this 'lovely' nightmare devoted to an anime. Of course she did. "Apart from you, the only people who know this are world leaders. If word of this leaks out to the public, we'll have a wide-spread panic on our hands. He must be terminated soon- and with extreme prejudice... Which means that you..." Karasuma's hand had slid into his suit. In one deft motion, he pulled out a knife. It took everything in her not to immediately teleport away, although the headache certainly helped in keeping her in the room. His blade sliced through thin air, with Korosensei suddenly a few feet away, and- was... Was he holding a plucking tool?... What?.. "Must become..." And there he was, on the other side of Karasuma. "... Assassins!" And he tried his hand again, with Korosensei flickering out of existence and back in, behind the semi-annoyed military man. Each time Korosensei dodged, Karasuma went at him with his dagger again. "Now, you'll notice he's incredibly fast!- And for some reason-" Korosensei had a small comb in one tentacle now, and was actively trimming Karasuma's eyebrows. "-he likes trimming eyebrows!" She could just about see his eye twitch.

They had to kill him by the end of the semester... Yes, as if that was going to happen... Jeez.

"Immaculately!" Karasuma yelled, making another go with his dagger. No luck, although she did notice a pink tinge crossed Korosensei's face at the word. For the stars' sake...

"You're looking at a being so powerful he can obliterate over half the moon _in seconds_." Ahhh... "So fast, he's been clocked at _Mach 20_... A world where he's allowed to live is a world _**waiting to be destroyed**_." Yes, it was a very good thing that she hadn't teleported out of the room the first chance she got. That would have... Ended very, very poorly. "Plain, and simple."

"He makes it all sound so grim, doesn't he? Cheer up, I made your government an offer- 'stop making fools of yourselves trying to kill me,' I said, 'and let me teach Class 3-E at this illustrious institution'!" She was so glad her vocal chords were nearly broken. So very, very glad.- Ah, that reminded her... Even if this was a dream, it had a near constant, linear path- which meant that if it went on, she would need to figure out her name in all this. After all, it was doubtful that anyone would accept someone going by 'Writer', so she would have to figure out what name they had... She had been noted as a therapist/teacher's aide, which meant she had to have a name somewhere, in some file.

"We didn't have much of a choice. We have no idea what his motives are, but we agreed on the condition that none of the students would be harmed in any way. Thanks to him teaching here, we'll know his whereabouts on most days.... Which is something." Karasuma stared at the students. It was a bit unnerving, and she wasn't even the focus. Jeezums... "On the other hand, he'll be in close range... To thirty-one people with the means and incentive to kill him." Thirty-one?... Well, twenty-six was the student count... Twenty-seven counting her... Where were the other four? "Do the deed and you get ten billion yen." Annnd she didn't know how much a yen was worth, so... That was wasted on her. "Kill him, save the Earth... If that doesn't deserve a life on easy street, then what're we fighting for?... He doesn't think you can do it." Korosensei's green stripes had returned in full force. "Green stripes indicate he's feeling superior, use that.- We... Have some experience with him." Ah, she was sure... And she was very sure that it would be some hilarious blackmail, if she ever got her hands on it.

"Truth be told, I'm not worried. The military couldn't kill me, why would anyone assume students could?... After all, you don't even have fighter jets!... Hard to keep tidy, fighter jets..." Two of the military folk exited... And in came a man and a woman in suits, carting a mass of knives, and two boxes... She glanced towards them, thankful the text was in English. Although that brought up an interesting question: why wasn't everyone speaking in Japanese?- That was the language of the place, so how was she hearing... Well, English?

"It's all on you.- Find the cracks in this smug bastard's defenses and exploit them. The weapons you'll be provided are harmless to humans, but extremely fatal to him... And it goes without saying: we'll need to keep this between us. The clock is ticking... Decide whether you'll stand for our planet, or see it blown into space dust."

"That should just about cover it, I think... Whadda say we hit the books and make the final year of your lives a productive one?" The guard that had shown her in motioned to the door. She made her way out without a sound. Her throat was feeling a little bit parched again... She glanced towards the man with the gun. Silence, eyes straight ahead, not making contact... Of course. She was guided back to the room she had come from initially- a small teacher's lounge of sorts. It had taken until now to finally register alternating smells, but she could easily pick up wood and paper, alongside a faint hint of ink and lead. This room had been used a lot in the past.. There was also a burn from the heat outside, but it was so faint compared to the water planet's agonies, that she barely made note of it. The guard, once she was inside, turned and left.

She was on her own, now... And now, she had some time to figure out precisely what the heck was going on. The very first step on her journey was checking the desk she had awoken on. She pulled out the first drawer to the sounds of guns going off. She flinched, breathing in a few seconds later and reminding herself that she wasn't alone. She found a paper- just one- in the drawer. Sadly, it was written in Japanese, for the most part. There were bits and pieces in English- 'F, 24, Tennessee, America' amongst others... But when she tried to find a name, all she came up with was 'Dagger Hilt'. For heaven's sake, that wasn't- that wasn't even a proper name! If that was her 'name' in this dream... Heavens to betsy. She laid her head down on the desk with a faint groan.

The wood felt real.... The paper felt real... Everything looked so real, so true to reality- but it couldn't be. She turned her head, eyes staring out the window.

She really, really wished she could have seen the Egg Tree looking back at her... But no. There was a brilliant, blue sky where she used to see a rocky ceiling. There was green grass where she used to watch toxic ooze. There were birds where she had once known the blue manta rays to be... And there were trees, where there had been little lava spouts. She closed her eyes, and the headache instantly became exponentially worse. She shot her head up. The spots came back with a vengeance. Her throat was dry, a desert despite having drank before leaving.

A knife thunked against a board down the hall.- At least, she assumed it was a knife.

.... Please... Let this be a dream?

"Aren't you all eager to learn?" The maniac's laugh echoed from down the hall.

... A dream would be so preferable... She ran her hand along the desk. The wood was carved, etched in the way it had been built. There were a few holes here and there- definitely not anything a decent person would consider a 'desk'. She had one guess as to why it was even in this room, and she didn't like where it came from. She closed her eyes. Picture.... The forest outside... The grass under her feet.... The breeze in the air...

Birds. She could hear birds. She opened her eyes, and there she was, standing. She turned around, the headache having gotten even worse. She was shaking a little, on the verge of collapse. If she was supposed to be a teacher's aide, there was no way she would be 'aiding' today.. Well, she probably could, but not to any decent capacity. 'Dagger', as she decided to dub herself for now, slowly began her walk back to the building. From the outside, it was definitely run down. There wasn't mold anywhere, but the wood had been cracked and splintered in several places, and a few of the windows were legitimately missing. A tattered flag flapped uselessly at the front of the school, written up (yet again) in a language outside of her understanding.

It only hit her then, as she listened to the birds and was buffeted slightly by the wind...

Her teleportation attempt had worked.

.... She was in Assassination Classroom...

And that...

That was **terrifying**.

The kids were training assassins, the teacher was a ticking time bomb, and she'd have to navigate it... Unless she could teleport back, but with her present headache, that wouldn't be happening for a hours, at best. She rounded the edge of the building, noting that there was a window at the end of the main hall. A few facts tried to flick across her mind, but they only succeeded in making the pounding worse. 'Dagger' leaned on the wall of the building, the scent of cut wood and beginning mold intermixing. Another thought crossed her mind. It was instantly put down. She couldn't even begin to fathom... No, it would be fine. She would be okay, the kids would live... And maybe, just maybe, she could change an outcome or two without arousing suspicion... Although she had her doubts.

... She would have to be careful.... Very, very careful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [And we're kicking this off with as big a bang as I can muster! I hope you enjoy, and be sure to let me know what you think in the comments below. Also, apologies, I am still.. Thoroughly new to using Archive of Our Own. ^^' I've been lurking on the site for ages, but actually writing in it?... Not so much.  
> It's about time I changed that. ^^  
> Also, if ya'll can't tell, I'll just be posting as I complete chapters, which will have a minimum of 3k words per chapter, a maximum... Of whenever I decide to cut the event. XD]


	3. Chapter 2: Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [In which Dagger plans too much, and I briefly attempt to write as Korosensei. I can already tell this fanfic is going to be amongst my more... *Interesting* attempts... Also, bonus points to whoever can guess the song that the fanfic's title is taken from! ^^  
> Also, fair warning (I dunno who'd be squeamish about this BUT): there's a bit of a graphic section in where Dagger's eating is described.. It's not terribly detailed, but still. For those who are squeamish, fair warning!]

The day came to an end, with Dagger's pen hovering at the end of a paper. She had her mouth closed, knowing that the second she attempted to speak, she would be croaking out words yet again. It was something she would have to practice while at her home- which was only going to be possible if she could even get back. That thought kept her a bit on her toes. She was still feeling that headache, but as the hours progressed, it had faded, bit by bit. She had done some decent recon of the 'teacher's lounge' before the day was over, noting that Korosensei never dropped by. Perhaps it was to get in the good graces of the kids, if at all possible.

There was very little to find outside of her document... A calendar had (thankfully) been in the drawers of one of the other desks, recently marked upon. Today was a Monday, and since she was a teacher's aide/therapist, she probably wouldn't be able to get out of even attempting to get home until Friday... Although she was more than sure that Korosensei could handle the kids (after all, some things didn't change). She noticed her stomach attempting to claw into her system. The pain was negligible, at best... She had probably ignored the worse hunger pains earlier in the day, a habit she seriously needed to get out of. Her eyes flicked to the door to the teacher's lounge. Open, just barely. She couldn't afford to have anyone peeking in on her using her tablet.- She couldn't remember what year was properly canon to the series, but she was pretty sure 'glowing glass tablet with no back' was not part of the standard tech. So she stood, crossing the floor with steps that registered only in silence. One hand reached out. She examined it as she pushed the door closed, turning the knob and quickly locking it. It wasn't like anyone would be using the teacher's lounge, for now.

Her hand was the same as it had been for three years... No visible signs of the virus, but she could sense the overall ache, deep within her veins. It was spreading... She turned away from the door after the click sounded into the air. It was doubtful that she would be spotted. At least... She would personally hope so.

The teacher's lounge had little flickers of dust here and there, easily noticeable in the burning rays of the outside sun. The desks- all wobbly to one degree or another- were rested facing across from each other, one on either wall, and a 'command' desk in front of the window. She could nearly imagine Karasuma sitting in that one, his glare dark and piercing. Her heart picked up. The beats echoed in her ears. This was dangerous. Being here was dangerous. It felt like waltzing straight into the Floating Islands biome, covered in active flares. Dagger needed to keep a low profile... Which would be a 'good luck' on her part. She was going to have to try to sneak around a Mach 20 octopus, a trained military assassin of sorts, and eventually, a freakin' seductress... All of whom were TRAINED to figure out their targets, sense the room around them.

A breath escaped her. She reached towards her back pocket, and the tablet's white stick and glass screen flashed into her hand. She flicked it in front of her. The UI came up, flickering to life with nary a noise. That... She was really, really grateful for that. The scents of wood and mold were a novelty, compared to the salt and fish she'd grown so accustomed to in the years behind her. Her inventory housed a multitude of fish, all cured... The one food that she'd found that never really decayed. The taste would be beyond familiar. She had thankfully been having more lantern fruits than fish as of late, so that might add what little novelty she could get to the meal... But that would be about it.

One of the cured fish appeared in reality, with Dagger's hand flashing out and catching it on instinct. She waited no time, stashing her tablet- which yet again vanished from reality- and dug into her meal. The taste of salted meat that had been decently cooked before absolutely smothered in sodium was a familiar one, and it helped to calm some of her raging pulse. Her teeth tore into the eye of the Peeper- one of the more common fish on her planet. The salt instantly bit into her tongue in return. She stuck with it, ripping into the meat with teeth that hadn't seen a proper brushing in three years. She would need to figure that out, if possible, while here... Some things, her blueprints were absolutely bullcrap on. Thanks to the salt in the Peeper, she was left with just trying to keep the salt particles from hitting the floor, as opposed to massive amounts of alien juice.

The Peeper was a decently sized fish. Dagger had to hold it in two hands to properly tackle it. The skin was still dark-blue despite the salting, but the most noticeable feature was the humongous eye on its front, bright yellow with a black center. It had two thoroughly tiny fins atop and below its main eye, and a tiny beak that she would need to dispose of in due time. Its back fins were eaten with gusto. The texture reminded Dagger of eggs- Lord above, what she wouldn't give to eat those again- but more like the edges, were the white had been burnt a bit by its container while cooking. The eye itself was like a yolk, still harboring some juices that she slurped in without a second thought. By the time she was finished with her meal, the eye of the Peeper on the left side was missing (yep it had two, one on each side, despite being nearly flat), and its back fins were gone. A few bites had gone into the main section. Dagger had never been more grateful for the stupid Fabricator's abilities before now... It would have been a pain to try to pick bones out of her teeth.

It smacked her then that she still couldn't teleport home. The headache had hampered her abilities. She had noticed the second she attempted to teleport earlier that day. While she had succeeded, it had taken conscious thought, and several seconds of focus. Teleporting to this world had taken only a thought, a cursory glance of consciousness alongside a command. The headache was not going to make getting home easier, but she had enough cured Peepers to hold her over for several days. That just left the question of where to sleep until then... She could try just bunking in the school, but she wasn't sure how anyone would take their 'therapist' hiding out in the teacher's lounge like a homeless person. Although, honestly, she had just undergone... Approximately... Far too long alone. So long as no one realized she had been isolated for so long, she would be fine. Dagger shifted the Peeper to one hand, and the tablet came back out. The Peeper vanished into her inventory, and a water bottle appeared.

She wasted no time uncapping it and taking a good, long swig. It was like a balm to her mouth and throat, nearly feeling like a river of life soaring down her esophagus. She had to force herself to pull back before she drained the bottle dry. She only had five- the maximum she had been willing to take with her if her teleport succeeded- which meant she could have one a day... At most.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. The tablet was out, the water bottle vanished, and it was gone. Her modified stasis rifle appeared in hand. It ran on two batteries, one tucked under the other. It was far shorter, nearly like a pistol compared to the near-shotgun she had had so long ago. Modifications were a lovely thing...- There came a sound like... Slithering?... Outside of the teacher's lounge. Dagger inhaled slowly. The stasis rifle vanished, and she reached for the doorknob, unlocking it without a second thought. She mentally attempted to prepare herself, but preparing herself for a freakin' octopus was still a challenge. Crab Squids? Sure, she could handle. Reaper Leviathans? Kind of, yes. A giant yellow octopus that could move at Mach 20? Not so much. Her hands were wiped along her shirt, a few salt crumbs falling to the floor in her movements.

"Hello there!" And in the octopus was, with a burst of speed and a flash of wind. The paper she had been writing on went flying, only to be snatched out of the air in a second's breath and held out to her in the next. "So you're the teacher's aide, I hear?" A chuckle escaped Korosensei. Dagger was already internally screaming. Forget Reaper Leviathans, this was a thousand times worse. How was she even supposed to lie to this guy???- She nodded. Her hand moved out, fingers grasping at the paper's edge. "Well, it's nice to meet you!" Green stripes wrapped around his face, grin growing just a touch more devious. "Attempting to aide me to my demise, I assume?" A shake of her head. Even this conversation, however brief, was already taxing what 'people batteries' she had. It was beyond pleasant to hear voices again, but it was beyond draining to actually realize she wasn't the only one in the room. His green stripes faded. "We'll see~! You never know- assassination can be pretty fun!"

".... N.... 'han's...." Annnnd she had attempted to speak. God, strike her down. Even with the water in her system, her voice was a far cry from anything resembling a normal voice, anymore. It was tattered, broken remains of speech. It could be equated to an adult attempting to ride a bike again, after not doing so for two years.- The skill was there, but rusty and diluted from the waves of time. Korosensei's tentacles had thankfully semi-stilled, but, being a creature that could move ages faster than any human could ever possibly manage, she noticed that they were still twitching every now and again.

"Perhaps at a later time.... Whatever the case, I've assignments to write! If you feel like trying your hand, I'll be outside. It's a pleasant day to enjoy the weather, after all!" And he was gone in a burst of wind. The paper flickered in Dagger's hand. She glanced down to it, only to nearly shriek. All that came out was the faintest hint of a muted squeak. Her plans had been doodled on, quite thoroughly too. All of her personal doodles had accompanying creations, from tentacles to eyes alongside her single-eyed attempts. Thankfully, no notes were put around the actual data she'd recorded, but that was still... Frankly, terrifying. She would need to keep her thoughts less 'on-paper' going forward... At least it made little sense to the casual outside observer... Although what was written probably had Korosensei guessing her motives.

' **48 Total**  
**6 - Bioreactor**  
**8 - Energy**  
**12 - Food**  
**Total : 26**  
**\---**  
**22 Remaining**  
**12 - Titanium**  
**1 - Builder**  
**3 - Bed**  
**Total: 42**  
**\---**  
**6 Remaining**  
**Fish for Aquarium, 2 Preferable  
Total: 44**  
**\---**  
**4 Remaining**  
**3 - Aquarium**  
**1 - Plush  
Total: 48**'

... Thinking about it... That probably sounded more like a list for someone seeking to create a trap than someone attempting what she'd be doing... Of course, she'd have the weekend to prepare... If the headache was gone by then. She couldn't up and leave during the school week.- That would put far, far too much suspicion on her from the get-go. For now... She would need to figure out what to do with what she had... Which was the food in her inventory. Dagger cursed herself silently. She really, really should have put more thought into the initial trip than just 'let's do this!', but at least she had had the wherewithal to bring along food.

It crossed her mind for a moment- the chances of the others getting infected... Low, nearly impossible. It'd... It'd probably be fine. Just... Had to avoid the kids...

.... Thought the freakin' _therapist_...

".... 'od 'oesn' like me..." Well, at least she had formed a sentence.

She shook herself of her nerves. It would be alright. She just... Needed to keep looking ahead. Korosensei had obviously taken note of her 'plan paper', but it was doubtful he had any clue what it was seriously about. As far as she was concerned, he probably thought she was trying to figure out an assassination already. She stepped cautiously back to her desk. The paper was rested on the top. So long as she held it in her hand when she teleported, it was doubtful that it would register as 'inventory', which would allow her a bit more carry room... And actually have a place to store her thoughts. Just in case... Her attention snapped to the door. Nope... No sound of wind. She had no clue how long making assignments would take, but hopefully it would be long enough. Her tablet was quickly pulled from its own storage, and a picture was snapped of her plan. That complete, she folded the paper up, opened a drawer... And dropped it inside.

If nothing else, she would need to figure out a 'bed' for the evening. Dagger pulled away from her desk, finding that the loss of the familiar was a touch unnerving. She breathed in... Breathed out... It wasn't like she was actively treading up to a Ghost Leviathan... Kind of. She was at the door when she heard a creak of wood. Someone was outside. The instinct to draw out her stasis pistol(?) was too much. The weapon flashed into existence in her hand. She blinked, and it was gone. This wasn't the ocean world... This wasn't the ocean world...

Her hands tightened into fists at her sides, head raising minutely to try to face whatever it would be head-on. Dagger stepped out of the room, and glanced down the corridor at another squeak of wooden floorboards.

"... Hm." Her eyes landed on Karasuma. The military man was presently treading down the corridor, making a beeline for the teacher's lounge. She stepped out. One fist came undone, waving in a half-crapped attempt at being friendly. A faint, soft smile crossed her face. Karasuma made no motion that he noticed, instead vanishing instantly into the teacher's lounge the second he was within range. Dagger's hand fell to her side. Well... No point in that, then... Although it would be practice, since he was essentially acting like a brick wall.. But that would be for another day, when she could actually sound out more than half-garbled phrases that would sound better coming from a sand shark.

She glanced up and down the hall. There were a few other doors, each labeled... But in Japanese. The only one not labeled as such was an overhang near the end, which read 'Class 3-E'. It was at the left end of the school, with the teacher's lounge being on the opposing end. Dagger cautiously made her way to the door opposing the teacher's lounge (at least, she assumed it was) and pulled it open. Inside was a window with the blinds drawn, an open chair.. And a semi-ratty couch. She could have cried from happiness in that one second, thinking she was going to return to sleeping on hard floors only to be met with a blessing from God himself. The windows that faced into the building were made of that same substance, nearly a wax-paper that allowed for vision of blurry shadows, but nothing else. The chair was simple- wooden, with a back and four legs (one of which was presently on top of a small book). It had scratches and marks all along its surface. Resting under the chair was a journal of some sort.

Dagger moved to snag it. The scent of paper and pollen drifted in the air, accompanying the background taste of wood and beginning mold. She opened it.. And was met with notes. Lots and lots of notes... At least, she figured they were notes... They were all written in Japanese. If she was going to be granted such an OP ability as understanding spoken Japanese, couldn't that have translated over to written, as well???... She flipped through the notebook, taking until the halfway point to actually locate empty pages. All were lined, waiting for new notes to be taken from them. She glanced to the couch.

As mentioned previously, it was ratty at best. The right-most arm had fallen straight off, now abandoned on the floor like a lump of rotten meat. The fabric was torn in places, allowing some of the stuffing to attempt to ooze out- an escape that left little to be desired. There was a pillow on the left arm-rest, and... Turning it over revealed a deep gash, alongside a stain that Dagger really just hoped was wine... Although why someone would lay on this couch with wine in hand, she had no idea. She turned the pillow back over. The couch itself was plaid, in the most putrid of colors- it nearly had the resemblance of vomit. The pillow as the exact opposite- bright and cutesy, complete with a floral pattern. The couch, chair, and pillow combined would make any sane person immediately turn around and start asking around for places to stay.. But Dagger simply sat down. It was better than the floor, chances of being found out were minimal compared to staying at an apartment complex, or a hotel.

She would have to sort out the whole 'teacher's aide' thing as soon as possible- alongside the whole 'therapist' business. Just because she was granted the titles didn't mean she wouldn't be working under them, to the best of her ability. But really, she wasn't sure she was up to the task. For heaven's sake, she barely even knew how to speak anymore, let alone how to handle the human brain. All she could handle was her own, and at times, even that had gotten a bit... Difficult....

Dagger glanced for a second to the window. The covering was thin, a few shades darker than the wax-windows (as she decided to call the interior windows). It gave the sun minimal chances to enter, not that it particularly could when it was on the opposing side of the building... The entire room was cast in semi-shadow, awaiting the dripping lines of night to silence all the world. She could hear birds outside, faint and muffled beyond the walls. She wasn't quite sure what to do until Friday. Without anyone going to her to chat, or having anything from Korosensei to actually work on (not that she could anyway, given her lack of reading capability in Japanese).. She was left with what would probably be the better part of an evening to herself. Just as she was beginning to lay down, there was a gust of wind. Across the hall, she heard the teacher's lounge door open- and then the tell-tale smack of a knife as a shadow of one hit the wax-windows.

"Have a good evening, Karasuma! Lovely hairstyle, by the way~." There was a growl from the man, who presumably was now sporting a new hairstyle (not that Dagger was going to look). Korosensei's shadow was massive. He was probably twice her height, and at present was hunched. His tentacles reminded her of the Warpers, and a shiver ran down her spine. It was nowhere near the size of the more dangerous creatures she'd seen, but Dagger decided then and there that she'd rather be facing down a monstrosity like the River Prowlers-fifty of them- at once as opposed to him. That was when another gust of wind filled her ears, and there he was, the door fully open behind him. "Have a good evening, Dagger!" And just like that, he was gone. Dagger blinked, staring at where the octopus had been for a few seconds. How had-... The file... He'd probably seen the file...

Well... That wouldn't be good. If there was stuff in there about her, such as a place of residence or something...- She'd have no clue, and she'd be found out near immediately.

A sparklet of panic settled in her gut.

Fifty River Prowlers... Far more achievable than this. She got up, swiftly closing the door and moving back to the couch after turning the lock. Five days to keep up appearances and keep from being spotted on the premises at night... And then she'd be home-free, at least for the weekend.

' _... God, grant me the strength..._ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Holy crap this fanfic already has three kudos and twenty-nine hits?! O_O;  
> Thank y'kindly for reading, and for the kudos! ^^' I hope you enjoy how the story goes! Right now it's going to be decently canon-compliant, but the further into the series we go, the more cracks I intend to make.- It's gonna take time, woop!  
> See y'lot in the next chapter, and thank you for enjoying my content/reading this far!  
> Updates will slow down considerably for a hot minute. Between finals (haha my inspiration's timing is impeccable!) and trying to make Christmas art gifts for my friends... I may be a bit held up, the next two weeks. ^^']


	4. Chapter 3: Night Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [In which we have a nightmare, Dagger thinks some things over, and things go passively for a chapter.]

_The roar was all-encompassing. Her eyes flashed open, just in time to see the tail end of the Reaper Leviathan as it crested a nearby ridge. She gasped. Water went into her lungs. A mesmer stared back at her, fins waving in a hypnotic pattern. She tried to look away.... But... The green and blue... So pretty..._

_" **.... Come back....** " The world around her folded in on itself, replaced in a second by the colossal skeleton of a fish from an era long gone. " **COME BACK!** " A ghost leviathan rammed into the structure, its chaotic screech intermixed with her own voice. The skeleton cracked. " **COME** **BACK!** " It cried out again. The water vibrated with its anger, its sadness. She ducked. It swirled back around. The head snapped into the skeleton she was hiding in. The bones cracked. They landed on her. Each melted, and in the next moment, she was on land, vision bleary and mind faltering. The sun beat down on her, dragging heated knives along her skin. She wanted to cry out, but nothing escaped her._

_"..... Welcome, miss." The Cyclops. Dagger cried softly in relief, curling up against the captain's chair. She didn't care how dark the waters were outside... Just that she was somewhere familiar... Somewhere..._

_Ghost Leviathans screamed outside. Her nerves instantly set on edge._

_" **Warning: entering ecological dead zone.** " The side of her Cyclops collapsed. Dagger was sent flying out into the open ocean without goggles, without a mask. Bright blue filled her vision._

_" **COME BACK!** " A mouth, cavernous and yawning. The last thing she noticed was spinning, seeing the entrance close. Darkness._

[]

Dagger shot upright. Her hand flew to her chest first, checking to make sure she was still alive. She was on the floor, having presumably rolled off the couch at some point in the night. She darted to her feet, then to the window. The blinds were pulled back, revealing a permanent crescent moon, high in the sky. She blinked, staring at it. It wasn't humongous, nor orange, nor rotating around the planet at a high rate... It was small, white-ish-gray, and it glowed with the promise of peace. She pulled away from the window. The couch was still decent, but the chair had been knocked over in the night. Dagger breathed in softly. She picked the chair up, setting it back on the book she had noticed it upon when she first entered the room the previous day.

Her hair was still heavily unkempt. She lowered her hand from her heart. It was just a dream... It was just a dream...

It had been... So long... Since one had legitimately awoken her from her slumber. She pulled out her tablet, scrolling over to her most recent photograph. She had a plan, she had things to do... She couldn't afford any kind of fit or attack now. Dagger dragged her free hand through her hair. It took less than half a second for her fingers to catch on a tangle. The tablet was set down, and she went to work on pulling the knot out. Her teeth were grit. Her eyes were narrowed. She gave a vicious tug, and it came undone- not without a few ripping sensations from her scalp. Dagger had presumably just torn off a few strands of hair on accident, but it grounded her. It was real. The dream she'd had was not. There was no mesmer here, no Reaper or Ghost Leviathan... She wasn't at the edge of the crater, she wasn't even on the same planet!....

She was okay... She was okay... And if she kept telling herself that lie, maybe it would come true.

For now, she could at least pretend.- Pretend enough to prevent notice, at least. No one would notice if she just... Kept her head down, did as she was told, and let her low 'profile' speak for itself. Speaking of 'low profile'... It probably would have been ages smarter to use her iPhone for that photograph, not her tablet... Dagger facepalmed, the slap of skin-on-skin contact one she was thankfully familiar with. She drew her hand back, and focused. No one was around... And while she wanted to wait until she was home, she couldn't afford to if she was permanently stuck here. The headache was almost gone- thank God- but bits and pieces of it still echoed around her mind.

".... Ah'm.... H'm'n...." Ah, lovely. Her accent- a southern drawl that came with her previous place of residence- was out in full force, especially in the dim of the night. "... Sonovaleviathanreaper..." Well! Progress!... Although why her progress came from a technical curse... Probably because that held more weight than simple statements. ".... T'day... W'hi'e..." She pulled in air, gentle and soft. Her voice was at the edge of nonexistent, caught between faint whispers of wind and the crackle of a broken radio. Disuse had left her with little else. Oh, how careless she'd been... But there wasn't much to 'talk' to persay, let alone people... Facts that would take getting used to.

The very thought of attempting longer conversations in the future set her heart racing, beating a retreat in her chest as if she were facing down a stalker without any gear. Dagger closed her eyes. There was no stalker, there were no people... It was just her, in the dark of the therapy room... And it would be okay.

" _... I'm s'ared..._ " That was most definitely not a southern accent. This one, as opposed to her sounding like a cowgirl, came out more in the tune of the sophisticated English. It was a stark contrast from her first accent. She couldn't hear anything resembling Japanese in her voice, but that had held true for everyone earlier in the class... Which meant that either she was going crazy, God blessed her in one regard or not another, or this was a world where English and Japanese swapped places. She had her guess as to which was the most true, but that would be sorted out through testing and conversing with those around her... Which meant she'd have to actually interact... Which sent another bolt of terror through her. It had been too long since last she spoke to others.- Too long since she even knew what speech was, or how to act. "... We can do this...."

A proper sentence! Haha!! Progress, indeed! She fist-pumped the air, a silent yell of happiness escaping her. If she was to return to her pre-Planet-4546B persona for the most part, or at least take it back up, then she would need to return to the gestures and mannerisms she had borderline abandoned. That would definitely take practice... But the gestures and mannerisms she remembered were more than fun to attempt once more. Dagger grinned in the darkness.

".... Maybe.... I'won' be s'bad..."

[]

... So she was tired. So her throat hurt. None of that mattered. Dagger found herself grinning like a fool as she shambled about the therapy room, noting several things she had ignored the day previous. There was a shelf of books on the far side of the room- all unreadable- and a floor lamp rested in the corner just beside the door that led back into the main building. The door had wax-windows, leaving guesswork up to the minds of the beholders- whoever they would be. There was a bit of dust on everything from lack of use, but a few quick swipes of her t-shirt was all it took to begin cleaning. She barely noticed that the dust clung to her clothing, although when the time came to sneeze, she froze. The sensation stood just at the precipice, her head pulled back, mind racing to find somewhere to teleport to that could destroy whatever allergens she released-...

But then the feeling dissipated... She still felt like sneezing, make no doubt, but the sensation that often comes from being milliseconds on the edge was gone. Dagger slowly shook her head. She needed to come up with a safe place to sneeze in the future. This whole thing was just mind-numbingly horrific. And yet, that smile remained on her face. She hadn't sneezed. She couldn't read the books, but she had cleaned the room- and a few minutes of meticulously pulling out dust from her clothes gave her a bit of a more approachable appearance. Dagger would need to do something about her hair. She opened up her inventory, doing a quick run-through yet again. Nope, nothing but food... A scanner would have been beyond excellent, but in her haste... Well, she'd gotten carried away.

For now, she needed to exercise. If she was going to return to her planet- even if only for a short time- she couldn't afford to let her abilities fade, not even by the tiniest amount. Dagger swept out of the room, falling into a light jog as she made her way down the corridor. She turned at the entrance to the building, noting a distinct lack of cameras all throughout the structure... As well as a lack of security (which surely would have gone off had it been active, or even there to begin with). She exited the building, taking note of how the front doors slid on silent hinges. They had to have been oiled recently- there was no way the building could have not-squeaky hinges with how bad the structure itself was. She sped up as she exited. There wasn't even a slight dip in her energy, nor her breathing.

She continued away from the building. There was a sort of wooden pillar out front that had more Japanese on it. The sun hadn't begun to rise yet, but the moon was gradually falling. The forest all around was dark, uninviting- a warning. Dagger took off for it without a second thought. This was Earth- worst it could be in the woods would be a bear or a mountain lion... And those were nothing compared to what she put up with on the regular. Dagger dipped her head as she dashed under a tree. It had been a few years, so she was taking it slow- but the woman was nonetheless parkouring her way through the woods. It was nothing like the ocean. Everything flowed so much faster, her steps were harder, and she wasn't constantly on edge about an attack from above (okay that was a lie, but it was a nice thought!). Dagger put her hands out when a humongous boulder came into sight. She hit it, rebounding with a push from her hands. A tree was in her way. She dug her shoes into the ground.

Dagger hit the tree, but thankfully her momentum was lowered enough to prevent too much damage. She grunted from the impact. It was far, far better than it could have been. She glanced around... The schoolhouse was out of sight. Perfect. All that was left was the faintest twinge of her headache, and she knew just what to do in that moment. She didn't even have to close her eyes.

It was like cutting from one scene to another. One moment, she was in the woods, hearing the gentle lull of night insects and the quietest of slithers from snakes. In the next, those noises were muted, replaced by a creak as her shoes hit the wooden floor. Since it was still dark out.... She could get in a lot more practice. No threats of being discovered, not until the sun rose and kids/faculty started arriving. She took off, soaring around the door to the therapy room and bolting down the hallway. It would have looked the slightest fraction manic, if not absolutely creepy, if someone were to see her. Her smile slowly fell away, pressing into a thin line, but internally, she was grinning with glee.

Maybe this year was looking a liiiittle bit up... If nothing else, it took her mind off of the present. Her steps were quickly becoming more automatic than actually considered, but that was fine. The sooner this became an automatic process, the better. She slipped around a tree... Up a rock.. Down a little hillside... Stinging pain registered in her hands. Should've brought a medkit. While she ran, she began letting her thoughts wander. This slowed down her speed decently, but she was still making good progress. She was meant to be a teacher's aide to an octopus that could work at Mach 20. Yeah, that job title was the definition of 'useless'. Outside of 'aiding' him to his demise, her tasks there were virtually nonexistent. As for the 'therapist' section, she would only be of any use if the kids came to her with their issues.

She refused to believe she was proper for the job. Dagger had no knowledge of how the human mind worked, to any degree. Maybe, if she was younger, she would have been more approachable about topics that would probably be brought up in the therapy room... But she wasn't that young. She wasn't that obliviously innocent. It was a bit of a kick to the stomach.- Before the whole disaster, sure, she'd have been more than willing to help anyone out with their issues... But now? She barely had a lid on her own problems, let alone knowledge on how to help others. This was going to have to come down to common sense and wit, which meant she'd have to take her time with answers... Which may hurt her credibility a little bit, but it wouldn't be too horrendous.

Dagger came to a stop, deciding she'd traveled a decent distance from the building. The building itself was in a clearing, surrounded by the woods on all sides. Even the pathway that led down the mountain was shrouded by trees and shrubbery, barely a dirt path through a veritable jungle. She had traveled to the left this time, and now found herself facing a steep incline. Glancing back revealed that she had been running up the incline for a bit, if the settling rocks at the bottom were anything to go off of. The chill of the night air clawed at her warmth, stealing it in a second's breath. Her eyes glanced up. There were still trees, make no mistake. They continued to cover the mountain for some time... If she could get the fabricator to this section of the woods, alongside her thermoblade... She breathed in. No, the scent of water wasn't strong enough on the air. She'd have to make a regular blade and bring that.

Guess she'd bring the plush the next time she came back.- She couldn't bring the blade. Destroying too much of the land would lead to her base being discovered.

"Frick." Dagger cast her eyes back towards the campus. It rested in a near-cirque, surrounded on all sides save one by upward slopes and a few saddle-valleys. It was nearly as if the mountains themselves were cage bars, trying to keep the kids trapped in the building. It reminded her eerily of the Sparse Reef. But instead of the lower waters presenting the danger, now it was the higher ground that presented more danger. Snakes were dangerous, yes, but they were more a nuisance than anything else- like crash fish. So long as she didn't let them deal a fatal bite, she'd be fine. She would have to keep exploring the surrounding land during the evenings and nights...

She was back in the therapy room again. Dagger began to pace. First to the couch, then flipping around to the wall, then the bookshelf, then the chair, and back again. Maybe she'd try to sit with the kids during lunch or something, but she wasn't sure how that worked. She wasn't sure how any of this worked. What knowledge she did have of social customs was from her own nation, her old home. It was useless in a place so far removed... But that didn't mean she wouldn't try... Just that success wouldn't necessarily be swift.

Also, a note to herself: eat before or after the kids have lunch... But not during. She did **_not_** want to attempt explaining to the kids what a Peeper was, let alone why she couldn't let them eat it. At least their 'assassination' skills were minimal at best... For the moment. She walked out of the room this time. She would have to take another direction, see if there was anything on the mountain she could spot that would be of u-...

The door to the teacher's lounge was open. She hadn't noticed before, having been lost in her own little world. The three desks were definitely far cries from one another.... And they'd been moved. Two desks per wall. On one was only a pen, on another was the pen she'd used earlier- straightened to a T against the edge of the desk. On the opposing side... There was already a desk, filled to the brim with papers and books and whatnot. Dagger stared for several seconds, trying to take in the pure volume of work that was sitting there. Even though that was presumably Korosensei's desk, seeing the amount of stuff on it... Was off-setting. She stepped into the room, noting that her pen fell off the desk the second her shoe touched the floor nearby. A method to warn someone of entry?

Dagger picked the pen up off the floor. There was a sticker on it, reading (thankfully in English): 'Class 3-E'. That... Had not been there when she left the room the day before. She shook her head, pulling away from the room before she could convince herself to go digging around the octopus' desk. That would be one sure-fire way to make herself out to be a pervert.. Or a stalker of an entirely _different_ nature.

And, for the third time that evening (or was it morning? The sky was beginning to purple after all), Dagger took off at a run. Her thoughts melded into little more than a stream, the world around her seeming to blur as her mind dropped out of the race. All she was aware of was movement, dashing from the building, to the woods... And racing through the dim-darkness. Everything was muted in greens and grays, a little more green to the coloration than earlier, but still fairly dark overall. She didn't slow down, instead continuing to make her way through the jungle. She came back to that big boulder she'd pushed off of a bit ago, and this time took to a wide turn.

Day two... Maybe there'd be less gunfire today.

Based on her luck so far, she highly doubted it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Holy frix, at the time of this note... I've got six kudos, and fifty-eight hits. HOW DOES THIS COMPUTE AJAOIjioreajioe3jwiauojfmaie-  
> Seriously though, thank you all for reading. ^^; We're mega early on, so it's still gonna be a hot minute of insanity:tm:, but we'll all figure it out!  
> And yes... I plan to start studying for my German and Geology finals respectively, tomorrow... But hey, I had free time today, so I decided to take my writing energy and R U N-  
> Might post another chapter or two tonight, might not, we'll see how it goes~.]


	5. Chapter 4: First Impressions (KS)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [In which soon-to-be-named Korosensei gives his thoughts.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This chapter takes place in Korosensei's POV! ^^]

Oh, today had been beyond amazing. First, he'd gotten to tidy up that little military base way out in Russia, and then, he'd been informed that his offer had been accepted! The military were already on their way, and, not seeking to disappoint, he had taken off after them. Their jets were ridiculously slow compared to his speed- something that nearly had him laughing all the way to their destination. He had landed outside the school, while the military had been forced to land their helicopters in what may have once been a recreational field. He made a note to clean it, in the future.

For now, he was allowed to gaze upon the derelict building from which he would be teaching until March- or his death, whichever came first. He chuckled at that. March would come first, undoubtedly... Although, he had his suspicions that he would be able to teach the children.- So long as he didn't take a leaf from the book of his old life. He was tempted to wash down the entire building, top-to-bottom, but that could come in at a later date. For now, he had to be on-time (if not early) for his first day as their teacher! He looked over himself. Tentacles all shined to perfection? Check. Black robe and red shirt pressed and cleaned to a T? Also check. Tie securely in place? Triple check!

"Get moving!" One of the military men barked from the jet as he clambered out. He would have rolled his eyes, had such an action still been physically possible. Instead, he settled for a low snicker. He began to move, causing an odd squelching noise mixed with the slither of a snake. It was probably disturbing for several of the military members, especially when he noticed one twitch uncomfortably. Prepared for many things, yes. Prepared for everything?.... Based on the scent he was getting off of them... Not even close. It was a moderate dose of battery acid, faintly stinging his nose, underlying the sweat and metal of the military. Sure, his duty would be to the kids, but knowing he could still freak out the government... Simply wonderful.

As he crossed the threshold of the building, a new smell made itself known. It was loud- louder than any of the others in the building. It stank of fish and salt, and there was a distinct, underlying current of illness. Was one of the students sick, and on their first day together???? He really hoped not! After all, first impressions were everything- and he couldn't afford a single misstep. He cleared his head of such thoughts as the military surrounded him on either side. Only one branched off from the group, moving away towards the teacher's lounge down the hall while he was escorted to the classroom itself. The door was opened, several 'huh's' echoing through the building. He had to bite back a chuckle. This... Was going to be **fun**.

He filed in with the military, taking up his position behind the teacher's podium. There were twenty-six students in the class- twenty-six minds to meld and names to memorize (which would be done in the shutter of an eyelash for them, mayyyybe a few minutes for him at worst). His grin was ever-present on his face, eyes glittering with joy. In then stepped a man that simply roared 'no nonsense'. With eyes as taut as pulled rope, hair slicked back nearly into a bolt of electricity, and a suit that had obviously been pressed that morning... Oh, this was going to be beyond fun at this rate~. The door closed behind the man, and he stepped up to be beside Korosensei.

Probably the one who would attempt to assassinate him.. He could smell the anti-him materials in the air, which had only grown thicker when this new one arrived on the scene. The door he had just closed opened once more, and in shuffled a woman, followed immediately by a man. The scent of illness, fish, and salt skyrocketed. He barely glanced to her for a moment, a motion so fast that anyone in the room would have no clue it had happened. There was no increase in anti-him materials, which left him wondering. They didn't outwardly appear sick, save a certain dullness to her eyes... Something he would investigate later. Surely she'd heard of what a 'shower' was, right??

"Hello, how are you?" He beamed at his class. He had cleaned his suit, right? Of course he had. It would be fine!- Right? Had to be. He had had all the time in the world to prepare, why wouldn't it be fine? "So, I'm the one who blew up the moon~..." The entire class dropped their mouths, several shocked faces staring at him. He loved and hated it all at once, taking this credit that he knew wasn't his... But, if the government was deluded enough to think he had done it, why not go along with their lies? It would be fine~. A chorus of 'huh's' broke out. Two sets in less than five minutes! "Next year, I intend to do the same to the planet Earth! But nevermind that now, I'm going to be your new teacher! Isn't that exciting???" Oh, if only he could grin wider. He settled, instead, for letting his tentacles flick for a few seconds at high speed. Surely the students would be beyond ecstatic to have someone such as himself as their teacher!... But when no smiles broke out, he merely shrugged the fact off. He **had** just said he obliterated the moon and would do the same to the Earth, so... No hard feelings.

"... Uh..... I'm Karasuma, I'm from the Ministry of Defense. What uh... What I'm about to tell you, we in the business call 'classified'." He had to commend Karasuma on being able to keep a straight face. Of course, the military man didn't even reek of fear- just mild confusion (which could be equated to rust). He breathed in, slow and steady... Before releasing a sigh. "Aw Hell, I'll just come right out with it.- I'm gonna need you to kill this thing, for the sake of mankind."

"... Excuse me... Is this a joke?- Because that's the alien that blew up the m-" He screamed incoherently. AN ALIEN?! PLEASE!- Such an accusation, and one that barely held any water! Sure, he claimed he'd blown up the moon, but many humans could probably achieve the same thing (albeit with more time and it would be spread out as opposed to happening instantaneously... Still!).

"I AM AN EARTHLING, BORN AND BRED, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" Fear. A lot of it. It was already intense, but now it was overpowering all other scents in the room. Whatever- they had no right to call him an alien! Who even did that, and on a first impression no less.... It looked like he would have to teach his class some manners!

"I'm not at liberty to discuss the details at this juncture. I'll just say... He's telling the truth.... This threat is all we can make. As of March... He will obliterate the Earth. Apart from you, the only people who know this are world leaders. If word of this leaks out to the public, we'll have a wide-spread panic on our hands. He must be terminated soon- and with extreme prejudice... Which means that you..." Karasuma's hand had slid into his suit. Oh, please~... As if that slow of an action would even begin to count towards ending his life~. In one deft motion, Karasuma pulled out a knife. His blade sliced through thin air, with his target suddenly a few feet away, and holding a plucking tool. If nothing else, he could at least clean up those eyebrows! Goodness, who even gave him makeovers? Medusa? "Must become..." And there he was, on the other side of Karasuma. Another failed slash went harmlessly through the air. Karasuma would have to try far, far harder than that. "... Assassins!" And he tried his hand again, with his target flashing behind the semi-annoyed military man. Each time he dodged, Karasuma went at him with his dagger again. All he could do was hold in his laughter. "Now, you'll notice he's incredibly fast!- And for some reason-" He had a small comb in one tentacle now, and was actively trimming Karasuma's eyebrows. "-he likes trimming eyebrows!"

Karasuma's eye twitched. The anger was nearly palpable on his tongue. What a way to make a first impression!

"Immaculately!" Karasuma yelled, making another go with his dagger. No luck. He felt his face go pink with appreciation for the compliment, before he dodged another swipe of anti-him dagger. At least the point was being nailed home to the children.... That way none of them (hopefully) would embarrass themselves with such a silly stunt going forward.

"You're looking at a being so powerful he can obliterate over half the moon _in seconds_. So fast, he's been clocked at _Mach 20_... A world where he's allowed to live is a world _**waiting to be destroyed**_." He had to resist the urge to whisper 'awwww'. It was so nice to get such a compliment!.. Well, 'compliment'.- Back on task! "Plain, and simple."

"He makes it all sound so grim, doesn't he? Cheer up, I made your government an offer- 'stop making fools of yourselves trying to kill me,' I said, 'and let me teach Class 3-E at this illustrious institution'!" He could remember all the manners in which he'd embarrassed the government. Everything from putting makeup on their would-be assassins to cleaning up entire military bases in the time it took them to fire off a single shot.... This was definitely the life, and he was **more** than living for it.

"We didn't have much of a choice. We have no idea what his motives are, but we agreed on the condition that none of the students would be harmed in any way. Thanks to him teaching here, we'll know his whereabouts on most days.... Which is something." Karasuma stared at the students. "On the other hand, he'll be in close range... To thirty-one people with the means and incentive to kill him." Thirty-one... Well, he could see the kids, so that was twenty-six... Plus the fish-woman, that was twenty-seven... And Karasuma himself, that was twenty-eight... That left three missing... Surprise students and faculty~? Oh, they really shouldn't have....~ "Do the deed and you get ten billion yen." Money, how the world went 'round... It burned him internally, just a little, to know that a major incentive in his death was not saving the planet... It was monetary value. No one ever learned their lessons, did they? "Kill him, save the Earth... If that doesn't deserve a life on easy street, then what're we fighting for?... He doesn't think you can do it." He could feel the green stripes going over his face, a grin stretching from eye to eye. "Green stripes indicate he's feeling superior, use that.- We... Have some experience with him." That was a light way of putting 'we got our asses handed to us by a yellow octopus'. He bit back another laugh.

"Truth be told, I'm not worried. The military couldn't kill me, why would anyone assume students could?... After all, you don't even have fighter jets!... Hard to keep tidy, fighter jets..." He found himself reminiscing for a moment, thinking back to the in-air waxing he'd given a pair of their fighter jets a day or so ago. Hopefully they actually tried to keep them clean in the future- those two had been filthy, save the cockpit windows! Two of the military folk exited... And in came a man and a woman in suits, carting a mass of knives, and two boxes... The anti-him smell had gotten exponentially stronger. He was ever-so-grateful that he was semi-accustomed to this body by now, otherwise the scents would have overwhelmed him. However, this was nothing compared to a few... _Ooooother_ situations he'd been in as of late.

"It's all on you.- Find the cracks in this smug bastard's defenses and exploit them. The weapons you'll be provided are harmless to humans, but extremely fatal to him... And it goes without saying: we'll need to keep this between us. The clock is ticking... Decide whether you'll stand for our planet, or see it blown into space dust."

"That should just about cover it, I think... Whadda say we hit the books and make the final year of your lives a productive one?" He rubbed his hands together. The students were full of fear, but he'd no doubt that would eventually give way to bravado, maybe a few failures... And eventually, bright, shining pupils. He just had to chip away at the exteriors, first. The military began showing themselves out, with one of them motioning for the fish-woman to leave. He made no move to follow. For now, he had students to get to know. He waited until the military was all gone (even Karasuma, who took a few extra seconds to watch him- please, as if he was going to do anything). In a flash, anti-him guns and knives were on every desk- one per student. "Now that that's out of the way... How about we get down to roll call, class?"

A knife went soaring through the air. With his reaction speed, it may as well have been a still-life. He side-stepped easily, a tissue snagged and held in-hand to pry the knife out of the blackboard. Wouldn't want to go around losing himself on the first day of class, now would he?

"Aren't you all eager to learn?" He laughed. Green stripes flashed once more across his face. Oh, this year was going to be so much fun!

[]

It had been _quite_ the productive first day. He had memorized names, warned the students not to fire off guns during class (roll call, sure- but class? They could hurt one another on accident!), and had foiled three assassination attempts before lunch. The kids had certainly taken a shining to attempting to assassinate him, which nearly had the octopus shining with glee. So eager, so full of life~! He hummed to himself, making his way down the hall. He was positively chipper with how the day had gone! All his students had taken to their activities- albeit with lackluster enthusiasm- and assignments had been parceled out for the evening. He had, of course, designed personalized assignments per student, but they all shared a general concept for now, a backbone of sorts.

He still needed to figure out their weak points in each subject, after all! And once that was done, he could move on to one-on-one practice at some point. Maybe some of the kids would try to stab him during said practice? That thought only made him grin all the harder. Oh, he could scarcely wait!-

And then he noticed the scent. Salt, fish, and illness. The salt and fish were far stronger, and he could just make out the frantic, quiet bites of someone in a panic. Battery acid leaked under the other smells, and it was drifting... From the teacher's lounge. Well, that wouldn't do at all! He couldn't have a would-be assassin terrified of him (although it would certainly be funny). He quieted his humming to nonexistence, eyes trained on the door. The eating sounds continued for a few seconds- the ripping of flesh and the slurping of liquid- before it quieted. It was followed with a few gulps of liquid, then silence. Only then did he continue in his movements.

Metal. And not regular metal, but strange metal. Titanium and magnetite, alongside a battery. The smell faded rapidly... As if the weapon had been thrown far out of range, but he hadn't heard a 'woosh' or a crack of a window... Intriguing, to be sure. The lock to the teacher's lounge clicked, and he flashed inside. It was more a show of power than anything else- and a way to screw around with his coworker. Standing there was the woman from that morning, hair still a horrendous mess of tangles and nests. Honestly, had she never heard of a bath?- Or a shower? Or legitimately _**any** cleaning technique **ever**_?

"Hello there!" He noticed a paper had gone airborne, and for a moment, snatched it out of the air and looked it over.

' **48 Total**  
 **6 - Bioreactor**  
 **8 - Energy**  
 **12 - Food**  
 **Total : 26**  
 **\---**  
 **22 Remaining**  
 **12 - Titanium**  
 **1 - Builder**  
 **3 - Bed**  
 **Total: 42**  
 **\---**  
 **6 Remaining**  
 **Fish for Aquarium, 2 Preferable  
Total: 44**  
 **\---**  
 **4 Remaining**  
 **3 - Aquarium**  
 **1 - Plush  
Total: 48**'

Well, well, well... What had she there~? Just to mess around, he proceeded to whip out a pen, and doodle the page into oblivion. He kept the notes themselves untouched, deciding to make marks alongside her own strange creations (everything from singular eyes to drawings of some of the kids in the class- attentive!). Thanks to his speed, he was able to easily note that one of the drawers was just barely open on her desk. He opened it fully, reading over the paper in record time. 'Dagger', hm? Odd name, but then again, it could have been a nickname.

"So you're the teacher's aide, I hear?" A chuckle escaped him. As if he would need a teacher's aide! Dagger reached out tentatively, her fingers snagging on the paper as if touching it would make her combust. The scent of battery acid was palpable. "Well, it's nice to meet you!" Green stripes wrapped around his face, grin growing just a touch more devious. "Attempting to aide me to my demise, I assume?" A shake of her head. His stripes faded, but he wasn't entirely put-out. All assassins needed to keep their actual plans secret. Couldn't let a target know what was going on. That just took all the fun (and the point) out of assassinating. "We'll see~! You never know- assassination can be pretty fun!"

".... N.... 'han's...." .... Well... That was strange. He was nearly inclined to tilt his head, but paused just short of it. His tentacles stilled (relatively), eyes on the other. Her voice was cracked- broken from disuse. Her papers had spoken otherwise, claiming she had been working on an island with private clients for the past few years, which he assumed meant 'I take commissions to get intel on people'. But that voice... It was one that hadn't seen the light of day (or, he supposed, the vibration of sound) in a long, long time. He took note of the southern twang in her words, however brief they were, which only further garbled her speech. Already, her cover story was contradicting her actions...

"Perhaps at a later time.... Whatever the case, I've assignments to write! If you feel like trying your hand, I'll be outside. It's a pleasant day to enjoy the weather, after all!" And he was gone in a burst of wind. He did manage to hear the faintest sound of a squeak from the other as he dashed away to write more assignments for the next day. It seemed she had found his doodles.- He snickered to himself.

[]

"Have a good evening, Karasuma! Lovely hairstyle, by the way~." He smirked. Karasuma, having tried his hand (unsuccessfully) at stabbing him yet again, was now sporting cornrows. Karasuma didn't even bother to look (how rude) and instead settled for a low growl. He shrugged, before dashing across the hall, following his nose towards the scent of illness, fish, and salt. He was quick to find it. It was coming from the therapist's room, and sitting on the couch was none other than the strange fish-woman. "Have a good evening, Dagger!" And just like that, he was gone. It was only polite to say such things to his coworkers, and far be it for him to deny them something as simple as that!

With his assignments done, he spun in the air, happy and proud. While he had his questions (all of which he would be asking before the week was out, no doubt), he still had one major thing on his mind....

Day one?

 **Big success**!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [... So yeah. I have too much writing energy and just not enough sanity to stop writing right now. I'm going to go do my final Self-Evaluation thing for Communications for the semester, and then I... Miiiight work on some of the next chapter tonight? We'll see. ^^; It probably won't be posted (unless I finish it tonight which is a 'holy crap' if I do thing because I've already written two chapters today-), but we'll see how everything goes.  
> I'll also be labelling chapters done in Korosensei's POV with 'KS' in the title, just to save some sanity (since his chapters will re-cover previous chapters 90% of the time). Need to keep track of the octopus' thoughts *somehow*!  
> Thank ya'll for reading, and I'll see ya in the next chapter! ^^ (If/when I post it n' all that-)]


	6. Chapter 5: Not Even Two Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Major isolation for multiple years + trying to hide a secret from a literal assassin = absolute failure.]

Her eyes were open in a split second. Something had landed outside. The stasis pistol was in her hand in the next moment, her left reflexively moving to grab a mask-

Only to find that there wasn't one waiting... And... Her bed was far more soft than whatever-the-heck-this-was. She sat upright, running the stasis pistol along her brow and glancing down. It vanished in an instant from sight. She was... Wearing her clothes.- Not her diving suit. She blinked a few times before the events of the previous day came roaring by her in a singular blast- although it wasn't just that. A literal blast of wind had gone through the small school building, stopping just inside the therapy room as a certain octopus made his presence known. The situation was immediate, adrenaline already coursing through her veins. She had been sleeping on the couch. She had been caught. Sleeping. On the _s c h o o l c o u c h_.

"My my!" Korosensei's voice was alight with curiosity. God, kill her now. "I do hope you didn't spend the entire night here. It can get rather uncomfortable, especially with the chill." Dagger blinked. No valid excuse immediately came to mind, but her mouth started running anyway.

"... Didn'' wanna go." Great, she sounded like a small child. That would be something to stab herself over at a later time. For now, she had to deal with getting the octopus off her trail. ".... Cou'h was f'ne." She shook her head. The headache was gone.... She couldn't guess a total time, but her thoughts were somewhere near the twenty-four hour range... Depending on if the headache had been so bad when she initially appeared that she had just blacked out on impact.

"If you say so!" Korosensei hummed lightly. "How are you this morning?" Dagger breathed in. Time to try to put what little exercise she had to use.

".... Tire'h, bu'alive." Eyyy complete sentence again! She resisted the urge to pump her fist in the air. It was faint, but there... So some of her older habits _were_ returning... Good. "What abou' you?" If she could get older habits to resurface, then maybe keeping her cover would work a bit more... But she couldn't be sure. Aside from that, the habits were things engrained into her since childhood- perhaps they were just coming back because she was around others once more. One couldn't be quite sure.

"Oh, I am simply delightful! I can't wait to see what the children have planned today." He snickered. Of course he would be... The guy could out-pace anything the young ones would throw at him. It was more a show of his students' creativity over anything else, which would undoubtedly grow as the year trudged on. "... By the way... You wouldn't have happened to have been in the forest earlier, would you?" Fear. Immediate. Fear. Dagger did her best to barely even blink, but her heart had picked up pace exponentially.

".... I wen'out for a few runs las'nigh'. Couldn'' sleep." Her throat was burning. Korosensei seemed to consider for a moment, before nodding his head... And grinning. There was no way he accepted it that easily. No way on God's green as frick-all Earth-

"I'll see you later!" And just like that, he was gone. Dagger stared where he had been not a minute before. He had her dead to rights, and hadn't pressed it. What... Okay, yay, but also worrying... She noticed an anti-sensei dagger on 'her' chair. She flipped off the couch, landing in an animalistic crouch on the floor that resulted in a few popping joints. The octopus had already visited, so she may as well have fun before the kids arrive. She went with it, crawling like a spider to the chair before slowly raising her body to eye the weapon itself.

It was a dim green- army style, and running her fingers along its surface revealed a rubbery texture. The letters 'S. A. A. U. S. O.' were written in half-existent white, with words under them for their meaning. 'Special Arms Against Unidentified Slimy Octopus'. A low giggle escaped Dagger. Really? This was the MILITARY and they had the word 'slimy' on their tool of trade! Her giggle evolved into a low, quiet laugh. She lifted herself off the floor, taking the hilt and noting that the substance remained consistent all the way through. If even the hilt of the weapon tapped Korosensei, he'd melt on impact. A smart design, when the enemy clocked at Mach 20... But not one that really held much weight, if memory served. The weapon was small,- short. Perfect for concealing in nearly any location without issue.

Her eyes drifted to the bookshelf. Without much thought, she quickly stashed the dagger in plain sight- poking out from atop one of the books on a shelf at eye-level. That complete, she turned away... And pulled out her phone. It clicked on without issue, allowing her to unlock it and check the WiFi. Maybe they actually had some decent internet?... Doubtful, since it was E-Class, but... She could hope. Dagger pulled up a new internet page, and typed in her query at the top.

'basic overview of how to be a therapist'. Several links came up, the first few being all about how to get a degree in such a field. Dagger scrolled by them with a small twinge of guilt. This entire scheme was the equivalent of a lie, the biggest one she'd ever tell. Hopefully, God wouldn't mind one way or another.- It... Was being used to save lives, after all?... Kinda... Sorta... She pushed the thought away. Something for later.

Finally, a link caught her attention. Well... Two links. She sat down in the chair and got to work on reading them both. There would be only one way to pull this job off- and that... Would be to actively become exactly what she was claiming to be.

[]

The Peeper was nearly gone. She was leaving the eye and some of the fin to eat last, already deciding she would keep the beak to commemorate her first Earth-bound meal in a long while. Her bites were quiet, frantic. The day had been silent- no kids, no Karasuma, no Professor Bitch (that was her name, right?) and no Korosensei since that first chat in the morning. She had more than ample time to mull over his words- including the question he had given and his sudden disappearance. A few more sounds of knives hitting the blackboard several classrooms over had sounded throughout the day, but with time, she was growing accustomed to them. They were nothing like the screeches and roars she was used to hearing in the far-off distance. It was... Uncomfortable, to say the least.

Any moment she expected to wake up, back in her base, staring at a pristine white ceiling and listening to the gentle bubbling of toxins and heat beneath her bedroom. But no, each hour passed, no different than the first. They were (she assumed) fast approaching lunch time, and so she had taken to devouring the last of her Peeper from the day before with gusto. She had had to stretch rations before, and this was certainly no different. Dagger couldn't rely on the others for help. She couldn't go out and just buy something... So she had to make what she did have last.

A gust of wind filled the building, and Dagger's head shot up. She nearly died then and there upon spotting a familiar yellow visage. The eyes were trained on her Peeper, three-fourths devoured, one eye sucked out and a fin bitten clean off. The tail was completely gone at this point, long-since eaten.

"-Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to join us for lunch, but I see you already have some!" Korosensei's tone was still light and upbeat. Inside, Dagger was pretty sure her sanity just took a free-fall off the edge of the Crater. "What is that, if I may?" His tentacles swiveled about him, slow and curious. He gestured with a hand towards her meal, something that almost made Dagger scream.

Okay.

God officially hated her.

".... It's a Peeper." There was no end to the internal screaming. "... And I don't think you'll be able to find anything like it."

"And why not?" Well. Screw that then. Dagger inhaled, before taking another bite of her meal. She needed a few seconds to think, and having her mouth full technically counted as having said seconds. She took her time, 'savoring' a taste that may as well have been white noise on her tongue. Meat, dried and salted, slightly sweet with a dose of bitterness. She knew what the bitterness was. Enough time on the Subnautica wiki during WiFi boosts had told her enough about that. She swallowed, before glancing back down to her fish. Why had she stared at the octopus that long? To feel less scared. Had it worked? No, not in the slightest.

"... It's not from Earth." As if she'd be believed. She took another bite, focusing on the fish before glancing Korosensei's way. Light yellow... Lighter than his usual coloration.

"Just like you." A statement, one that immediately had all her nerves flinging to the edge. He knew.- Or did he? Was it just- was he bluffing? Was he being serious?- "When you've finished your meal, I'm sure the kids would love to chat with you! After all-" Green stripes flashed across his face. "-you all have _so much_ to talk about." And he was gone. Her internal screaming went up about twenty notches. She finished the fish in record time, closing the door and locking it while she attempted to gather her thoughts. Great. She'd been found out. That thought added a pit to her stomach that just swallowed up all her hunger, but she ate anyway. She didn't want the tablet suddenly going off during lunch- or while anyone was around at all, for that matter. One person had found her out...

She put the beak in her inventory, before doing away with the tablet. Dagger brushed her hands off on her clothes. If nothing else, she needed to try to watch the students- appear semi-normal... Semi. That would be easier than fully normal, given her circumstances. So she negotiated herself away from her seat. Her mind was still a livewire as she unlocked the door and stepped out. She'd been found out, less than two days in. What kind of moronic, stupid, son of a-

Calm down. Calm down... Calm down...- Stay calm. She had to keep up appearances, and going off the handle at herself would not aid her situation. No, for now... She had to go and be 'a person', whatever the frick that meant. Dagger attempted to smooth out her clothes, noticing the hints of sun-bleaching from when she had first started wearing them. She could smell the salt and fish coming off of herself in waves, but that couldn't be helped. Soap? What was that? She walked down the halls, steps silent as a mouse. If she didn't know any better, she'd consider herself a River Prowler, seeking out new prey in the green slime-hole of the Lost River.

The doors to the front of the school came up relatively fast. Dagger made her way towards them. She pushed them aside, revealing... The class, all out and about, eating and talking amongst themselves. Whether this was a commonplace thing or not she wasn't sure, but she did notice quite a few cliques. The students were divided decently into their own groups, friends amongst friends and strangers amongst strangers. Korosensei was flitting from one group to the next, eating a few bites and then moving when one attempted to kill him. His green stripes were out in full force, a laugh of glee escaping him at each attempt on his life. He didn't even look up when she stepped down from the top step in front of the building. She sat down on the cement, noting the various cracks in the material. This was the only portion- outside of the foundation- that seemed to be made of any weather-standing material, and even it looked like it needed an update.

She had forgotten to bring out her water bottle... Dangit. At least that, she could have passed off as being some fancy-schmancy thing from a store. The Peeper...- Thinking about it, she could- have-.... Claimed it was from Earth.... SONOVAFRIX!!!

Dagger attempted to distract herself by watching the students. There were many, and all were strange to her in their own right. Some had gold hair, others brown, some a weird orange, and one had blue- another green. Sadly, she could only name two of the twenty-six... Something she would need to get better at, especially if she was to be their therapist going forward. Nagisa and Kayano, not counting Korosensei... And Karma Akabane wasn't here yet, so he didn't count... Neither did Itona or Ritsu... She exhaled softly. If nothing else, she could get in some talking practice while everyone was at their later classes. It would be something to distract herself from the growing pit of panic in her chest. She couldn't hear word of herself from Korosensei, but she was getting an odd look or two.

Had he told them? Or had he kept quiet? Either way, this was nerve-wracking. She knew she smelled absolutely terrible and probably looked even worse. Maybe she could sneak a comb from one of the kids, if they accidentally left it at the school house... As for cleaning products, she would just have to make do.- There wasn't much that could be done, since her tablet had loooovingly left out the recipes needed to make some basic soap. Maybe she just-... The _ingredients_. That was it.- That HAD to be it. The ingredients always unlocked new recipes when she needed them, so all she needed to do was get at least one ingredient on-planet that corresponded to the ingredients of regular soap, then feed it to a fabricator.

She pulled out her phone in a quick choice. She needed to make soap- she wasn't the only one who had to put up with her B. O. anymore (and why she hadn't thought of this sooner was BEYOND her). She raced to the internet, putting in her query as fast as she possibly could.

... Oil or animal fat... That was the first ingredient. The rest she could worry about later. All she needed to get was animal fat- and she had a solid idea as to what animal to kill for it. It would involve some near-misses and some poison, but she was sure it would work out. She had survived Hell in the ocean, a little poison water wouldn't do her in.

".... It could work...!" The words escaped her, measured and soft. She needed more speech practice, so why not? Dagger grinned at her phone, eyes locked on the screen. A quick screenshot was used before she turned it off to conserve power. She needed to get back to the Safe Shallows, which would mean bypassing Geoph and the River Prowlers... And, depending on where she went, a few Crab Squids, some Ampeels, and several Warpers. So... A normal Bi-weekly trip to the surface. It filled her with nervous energy, but it was energy all the same. She would just teleport, but given her body's reaction to teleporting here... She couldn't rely on it, not this time.

The kids were beginning to wind down. Their food was mostly eaten, and they would soon-enough be returning to the building. Not seeking to be caught up in the swell, Dagger took to standing up first, and waltzing inside with a little extra pep to her step. The thought that she had been found out tried to crash in and ruin her fun. It succeeded in part, weighing down the happiness of her discovery with the darkness of 'what if the government finds out'. They would probably find out early on,- not as early as Korosensei apparently had, but still too early for comfort. She shook her head. Being an off-worlder couldn't have been of enough note to tell the students- right?

She exhaled. No, there would be more odd looks if she had been discovered by the whole class. It was probably just Korosensei who knew at present (or so she'd hope). Trying to worry about if all the kids knew (let alone Karasuma) would freak her out far too much, render her immobile- and she couldn't have that, not one bit. For now, she had to keep her head down, act her part, and pray that Korosensei stayed the heck out of her room. To that degree, she made a mental note to start locking the door every time she entered. She couldn't afford to have him waltzing in at all hours to find her in more revealing situations. She would also need to be careful how she did the teleports going forward... He was clearly on her trail, and she had no intent of losing any more cards... Although he probably already knew. It would be best to steel herself to that information as soon as she possibly could.

Her mission was a failure- in part. Her teleportation (to her knowledge) was still a secret, and while Korosensei... Miiiight've figured out she was from off-planet (which she hoped against but only God could know at this point), she hadn't been shot with a tranquilizer or anything, and it had been most of the school day already... So she was... Probably safe. Maybe.

... Maybe was better than 'not at all'. Dagger slipped into her room with nary a bat of an eyelash. The door was locked, and she slumped onto her couch. Her tablet was pulled out, and a bottle of water appeared in her hand. She immediately took to it, draining the rest of the previous day's contents without a second thought. The moment she had finished drinking it, the bottle shattered into nonexistence. It was a bit of a sight, watching it suddenly crack and fall apart, only to fade out of reality... But it was old news, by her standards. She barely gave a second thought to the shards as they twirled down from her hand.

The tablet was put away.

Maybe she'd listen to some of the older recordings on it when night rolled around... For now, however, she stared at the ceiling.... And noticed a hole in the roof, near the back right corner. There was a little patch of discolored wood on the floor under it. For frick's sake...

".... Y'gotta be freagin' kiddin' me..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [So, does Korosensei know? Or is he just messing with Dagger?~ I suppose y'all will have to wait and see! And yep, here I am, writing more fanfic despite my finals being on the horizon.- It's one of the ways I cool down... That, combined with my mind deciding to come up with ALL THE FREAKING IDEAS for later in the series between study-sessions... Yeah, I really wanna hit some of the scenes I've been thinking up. <_<;  
> For now, I'm plotting to hit up some canon stuff in the next chapter, which means a lovely timeskip~. Beeecause there's only so much I can cover with Dagger constantly being *in freaking hiding*.  
> A special thank you to my friend k.p, who looked at a scene from this chapter and helped me figure out if it worked or not (spoiler: it did not so it's been edited~). Danke for helping me with my worries!  
> I might update tomorrow, might update after my exams on Wednesday/Thursday... Might update at a later date. We'll see. Ya'll have a good morning/afternoon/evening/night/whatever it is when you read this, and I'll see ya in the next chapter if/when it gets posted! ^^]


	7. Chapter 6: Kamikaze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [In which Nagisa reveals that he is suicidal to a horrifying degree.  
> WARNINGS: Suicide mention, attempted suicide/suicide bombing, talk of suicide, implied thoughts of suicide. Lots and lots of suicide-topics come up in this chapter.]

Dagger had no clue what truly happened in that classroom on a daily basis. She did note that the kids' groups had flipped a little, some stragglers dogging various others, and... Nagisa was hanging with the bullies. She couldn't remember their names, just... 'Bullies'. Specifically, the big brawn. He had short, spiky brown hair with a golden undertone, and deep brown eyes. His skin was tanned, and he had muscles that would make any regular kid his age jealous. His eyebrows were raised in conspiracy as he whispered to Nagisa, having pulled the poor kid aside mid-lunch. The difference between the two was staggering. Nagisa was short, skinny, nearly the definition of feminimity in a male body. His hair- usually probably long enough to reach his shoulders- was clipped up in twin pigtails. His clothes- the male's uniform- were baggy at best, and he had on a blue vest overtop, as if that would save him something.

The other, meanwhile, stood over his classmate by at least two heads, wearing a button-up white shirt that was unbuttoned at the top two. His light gray pants fell down to his brown shoes, but they weren't nearly like bags compared to Nagisa's outfit. The contrast was stark. Dagger barely looked up from her viewpoint, but she noticed for a split second when the exchange seemed to become heated. The bigger one's words were lost, not quite existent, but she could swear they were there. She recognized Nagisa's response- a crouch back, the faintest hint of a flinch. Someone on the defense, on automatic.

Nagisa folded. The slump of his shoulders was a dead giveaway. The bigger student dropped a pale-orange bag in his hand, and walked away. Dagger stood, noting a few other students wrapping up their lunches on the lawn. She half-wondered if they were just allowed to eat outside as they so pleased, but some chose to remain inside... It certainly spread the class out, which would probably stress a normal teacher to the point of near-madness. It made her glad she wasn't their teacher; to be their teacher would be to watch her sanity crumble in a matter of minutes.- Children had never been her strong suit in general, and now, she felt as though they were a galaxy away. She strolled back inside the building. Something about the way the bigger one had been speaking to Nagisa... She exhaled. Stupid as it was, she was tempted to sit in on the class.

Although she still smelled like fish and seawater, so that was about as likely to happen as her suddenly winning the lottery. She pulled to one side of the building. Dagger's steps were quick and precise, and she paused just at her door. Her hand rested on the wooden frame, listening.

"Wonder what the teacher has in store for us now..."

"Who knows.- Hey, y'think I could stab him if I went in for studying after hours?"

"I tried, and it didn't work.... Buuuuut, I killed it on the math quiz the next day!"

"That's no fair!"

"Maybe _you_ should take a stab at him after-hours then." A faint laugh escaped Dagger. It was quiet, subdued. She knew they were serious, she knew it whole-heartedly... But they were... Nostalgic. She ducked into the therapy room before she could further destroy what little reputation she had gained in the past week.- Correct, week. Even after her discovery- okay, possible discovery- by Korosensei, she had managed to evade notice from Karasuma and the children, which was reason enough to be happy. Her plans for when she returned home were growing by the hour, with more and more of them being childish in nature. But, she could not afford to distract from the main goal. If she was going to live on-planet on the weekdays, she needed to make a base. She had spent her nights- after awakening from her restless sleep- exploring the mountains, finding every nook and cranny she possibly could.

The building's windows rattled. Dagger tensed on automatic. It took a few seconds for her to spirit away the pistol that had been summoned to her hands. That was just Korosensei returning... It wasn't a leviathan-class monstrosity... Although, really, he could be identified as such. His power level was certainly on par (if not far above) such beings. Dagger shook her head and returned to her wait. For what, she wasn't entirely sure.

After much exploration, she had found a particular divet in the opposing side of the mountain- away from the campus. It was a good two hours' hike/run from the building, which meant that its notice would be unlikely at best... She'd probably have to move her base further out as the year progressed, but that was a detail for another time. For now, she at least had a location the children wouldn't be discovering any time soon (and hopefully the same would hold true for Karasuma). Just to be safe, she was already plotting on finding a chameleon (or some other disguised creature/device) and gaining some blueprint for a proper hiding spot... But one could only hope, not bet.

And that was when she heard exclamations from the class, a few halls down. They weren't horrified nor worried, more like.. Disgusted. She gave the moment her ear.

"You can't be serious! 'Was tentacles all along'-!"

"Should get those little synapses firing, and the imagination _**slithering**_!" The words rang a bell. Not one that Dagger could immediately place, but it settled a stone in her gut. She spun out of her room, vision flashing down to the opposing end of the building. Dagger was still. She knew it wouldn't work. That didn't stop her from feeling a twinge of panic. Silence settled. Eerie, panicking silence. She was overreacting. She knew she was.- She knew full-heartedly that her worry was misplaced, but she couldn't help the fear that struck deep in her heart.

"Could you please knock that off?!" One of the students yelled over the sound of Korosensei's blubbering. Dagger made a note that the walls were definitely not sound-proof... Either that or her hearing was better than she expected.

"... I'll take a short break while you kids take up your pens...."

"Excuse me, sir?" The green-head. Kayano. An unnatural hair-color, if ever Dagger saw one, but honestly, it was on par with Nagisa's blue, or Karma's red... So she couldn't complain. "Question...?"

"Oh- yes, Kayano?"

".... We can't just keep calling you 'sir', can we?" Dagger exhaled slowly. "You sort of need a name, if you don't have one. It would be kinda awkward if we don't call you _anything_ , right?" She was not to be here... This was not her moment to listen in on.

"Ah... Well, now...!"

Dagger pulled back into her room, but left the door slightly ajar before sitting down. The memories of what happened in the anime surfaced. Dagger pushed them away, but found it all-the-more difficult to remain in her chair. This was not her moment to interfere... And she could just about picture Korosensei's angered face. It had been frightening enough in the anime, to see it in real life?.... Not something she wanted to experience, not then, not now, not ever. She would just as soon legitimately piss off the octopus as jump straight into the arms of a Warper. That was when she heard an explosion. She was outside the door to the classroom in the blink of an eye, and in the next second, the door was slammed open, and she was staring into the room.

The place looked border-line untouched, save a singed piece of wood on the podium up front. There was a husk of a body on the floor, and she could make out Nagisa's outline under the yellow film- seconds before the kid from earlier (and several of his cronies) ran up. He had two with him, but Dagger was more focused on the kid under a film on the floor... And then the scene registered in her brain, and her heart stopped.

"Ha! Never saw a suicide bomber comin', didja?!"

"Terasaka! What did you make Nagisa do?!?!" Kayano yelled. Dagger didn't dare look at the ceiling, but her heart was already prepared to explode out of her chest in a panic.

"I'm sorry, you have a better idea?" The kid in question was the one that had been standing over Nagisa earlier. His two cronies- a kid with a bowl cut of golden hair (alongside the look of an absolute dunce) and a dark-haired kid with dreadlocks (alongside a nearly predatorily narrowed set of eyebrows) were eyeing the 'husk' that was Korosensei. "I gave him a modified toy grenade filled with those stupid BBs, and a spoonful or two of gunpowder so they'd scatter at a high enough speed." She was frozen. It was one thing to see this in an anime, it was something else ENTIRELY to see it performed live, in front of her eyes. She was milliseconds from personally ramming into Terasaka or shooting him with the stasis pistol to deal with later. "Don't worry, it wasn't enough to kill anybody. I'll pitch in on his medical bills!"

Oh, yes, because that made up for talking a kid into _committing **suicide**_. A mutter of confusion echoed from him as he stooped down to figure out what was up with Nagisa. Dagger still found herself tempted to look at the ceiling, but at the moment, her instincts were screaming to _**R U N**_. She hadn't spent three years surrounded by beasts of fish to not gain some sense of when danger was nearby, especially right now. Her blood was almost ice, hands tensed at her sides and having to ward off the instinct to call upon her weapon. She should have brought more. She should have reacted faster.

She shouldn't have just sat in her room, knowing what today would bring.

"Woah... He doesn't even have a mark on him!... And what the hell is this membrane?..." Terasaka started moving the strange film off of Nagisa. It created a gross squishing noise as he picked at it. "... Did the body-"

"It's not a body. It's a husk. I shed my skin once a month." Now she dared to look up. The eyes above thankfully weren't focused on her, but that didn't make the sight any less terrifying. Nagisa broke free of the husk. "I wrapped it around your classmate to protect him from the blast." If there was a way to describe Korosensei right now, despite being stretched out over the ceiling like a flattened pancake... It was terrifying. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume you _didn't see this coming_. **Terasaka, Yoshida, Muramatsu-** " And that was when he morphed. His eyes stretched, forming pits from Satan himself, teeth sharpening from a jovial smile to a demonic point. His yellow skin blackened to ash, and Dagger was pretty sure she was staring at death itself. " **-this was your doing, WASN'T IT????** " Terasaka, Muramatsu, and Yoshida all were whimpering. They looked about ready to run in a blind panic.

"Who, us???"

"It was all Nagisa!" Terasaka yelped. An altogether overpowering wind ripped through the classroom. Dagger was slammed into the wall, away from the door. Her hands were up over her eyes in a second. Her heart was just about ready to beat itself out of her chest and run all the way back to her base on its own. Screams filled the room, deafening and ringing. Just as the wind relaxed, it came back, blasting through the building- and the classroom- once more. There Korosensei was, on the ground, across from the three troublemakers. Several plaques with Japanese on them fell to the floor. "The nameplate off my house-!" Panic. Pure, unbridled panic.

" **Here's the deal, kiddos... The agreement I have with your government forbids me from harming _you_.- But, there's a catch. If you pull another _irresponsible stunt like that again...!_** " More plaques fell. One actually had English on it, reading 'Sugino'. " _ **There's nothing that says I can't harm someone else.... Family, friends- everyone in the world except for YOU if I feel like it!**_" This was facing the Sea Dragon Leviathan. This was seeing death, and staring it down. Just as Dagger suspected, she was not prepared- not in the slightest.

"GO ON! THREATEN US! I AIN'T AFRAID OF NO SQUID!" Terasaka was pointing at Korosensei, eyes narrowed and teeth grit. She was pretty sure he'd panic and run at any second. "WHERE DO YOU GET OFF BLOWIN' UP THE MOON? WE GOT RIGHTS Y'KNOW! CALL US 'IRRESPONSIBLE', WE'RE JUST DEFENDING OURSELVES!" And just like that, the black was gone, Korosensei was yellow once more, and his face was bright red with a darker red circle on the front.

"Of course, I know that!- I'm not calling you irresponsible for trying to kill me... No, no, no." And he was petting Nagisa with a two-fingered tentacle. Dagger's heart was still racing. Right. Yep. Totally fine. HOLY SON OF THE LORD WHAT HAD SHE SIGNED UP FOR.- "As a matter of fact, Nagisa here gets full marks for technique! His composure was simply _outstanding_ , however!..." And he pointed to Terasaka and his crew. "None of you cared if he was injured." They all looked away. Dagger put one hand over her chest, willing her heart to slow down. "Not even Nagisa himself, it seems. Students with that attitude aren't fit to assassinate **anyone**!" And he was purple... Then yellow again. "You must believe yourself _worthy_ of your target! That means taking pride in what you do, in yourselves, and in **each other**. All of you are more than the sum of your parts."

Dagger took that moment (while Terasaka and his crew were filing back to their seats) to cautiously make her way back to 'her room'. She stopped, a confused hum escaping her when she noticed the open teacher's lounge... And a piece of paper on her desk, held there by a rock. She stepped inside and picked it up.

' _Dear Ms. Hilt,_

 _Nagisa will need to see you after class is dismissed for the day. I believe you know why._ '

There was a drawing of an octopus on the corner of the paper. Dagger put a hand to the words... And a little ink pulled away. It had just been written. She... Was never going to get used to this, ever.

"NO ONE LEAVES UNTIL I AM VANQUISHED!" After the insanity that had just happened... Dagger laughed. The class groaned a few doors down before she heard the door to it slide closed, but dang. A tentacle-monster hell-bent on teaching kids assassination before he 'exploded' in one year's time... And here he was making it sound like they had to do so before they could escape the building for the day. And that stupid, funny voice- right after he had the words of Beelzebub pouring from his teeth. She put a hand to her mouth, stifling her laughter. She had to get ready- there was going to be a guest in her room, after all.

[]

There was a knock on the door. Dagger glanced up. She stood, opening the door with ease and spotting Nagisa on the other side. She opened it the full way, and gestured for him to enter.

"Sorry, miss.- Korosensei told me to come by after school." Dagger waved a hand lightly.

"I realize." She was so grateful that her practice was coming along well, but she would have to use her words sparingly. Conversation- especially full-blown- was still a work in progress. "... Is there anything you want to talk about?" She made no move to sit, instead just closing the door with a small 'click'.

".. Not at the moment." Nagisa murmured. She could feel his eyes wandering all over the room. A shrug escaped her. She hadn't had experience in such things in ages, but...

"Then we have nothing to talk about." She moved towards the shelves, pulling out her anti-Sensei knife and looking over it. Nagisa shuffled. He sat down on the couch, albeit reluctantly. The only other seat was the wooden chair, but frankly, that was worse than the couch... She was going to be happy when she moved everything over. For now, however, she was stuck with this flimsy room. She put the knife back and sat in her chair. Her eyes remained on Nagisa, and his eyes remained on her. The two just stared at one another, not a sound passing between them for over two minutes. Dagger found the silence comforting, but the stare was more than enough to give her unease in her native sound-environment.

"... I attempted to assassinate Korosensei." Dagger tilted her head.

"Sounds like fun."

".... With a grenade on a necklace." There it was. Dagger nodded her head lightly, before pulling back. She had no clue how to go about this, and she was pretty sure Korosensei already spoke to the kid, so... Why was she even doing this? God only knew.

".. Suicide-bomber style?" A nod. "... Creative. Very creative." She scratched at the back of her neck. "... Do you have any plans for tomorrow, Nagisa?" The kid blinked, staring at her as if he'd just been smacked between the face with a block of wood.

".... Yes?"

"How would you react if those plans were suddenly all destroyed?" Silence. The kid's head lowered. Dagger made no move, no sound.

"... I would be sad, I guess." Well, a guess was better than being happy about destroyed plans. She... This wasn't how to go about it. How had her therapist put it... Those sessions were cobwebbed, half-forgotten memories of a blurred lifetime.

"How were you feeling when you decided to go through with being a suicide bomber?" Silence. Dagger remained quiet for two minutes, counting out each second while Nagisa thought. When she figured he wouldn't be speaking any time soon, she stood from her chair. "... Give it some thought... And let me know- if you are willing- what you want to let me know. Just realize... You don't have to tread these waters alone, Nagisa." She made her way to the door. Her hand was on the handle when he spoke.

"... Invisible." Dagger turned her head, but did not look back fully.

"..... Believe me when I say... _You are very,_ ** _very visible_**." She moved back from the door. ".... What makes you think that you are invisible, Nagisa?" Her throat was starting to hurt. She really couldn't handle this conversation for a terribly long amount of time... Crap. Silence. Nagisa's hands clasped together. ".... You do not have to tell me today, Nagisa... Just... Think on it, alright?... And let me know, when you're ready." Nagisa nodded.

"... Thank you, Miss." She made no effort to give her name. Nagisa brought himself to his feet, and made his way to the door. Dagger moved aside. Just before he stepped outside... He smiled at her. If it weren't for their mini-chat, she'd have had no clue he was suicidal. His smile was so kind, so innocent... But it hid a darkness underneath, a darkness that would fester and grow and infest, if he wasn't careful.. She was loathed to let him leave, but she couldn't let him remain. Nagisa vanished out the door, and she was alone.

Dagger gently closed the door and locked it once Nagisa's feet were a decent way down the hall... And pulled out her tablet.

**NOTES ON: NAGISA SHIOTA**

**\- Suicidal  
\- Hides in Plain Sight  
** **\- Quiet  
  
** **Suggestions:  
** **\- Talk**   
**\- Monitor  
\- Do not force**

The tablet was put away. She breathed out ever-so-slowly. Hopefully Nagisa made it through the weekend... But that would be a bit of a weight on her mind. She closed her eyes.

' _God, grant me the wisdom..._ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [SO THE NOTES AND KUDOS JUMPED WHILE I WAS AWAY HOLY FRIX YOU PEOPLE- THANK YOU ;-;  
> In other news: I did what I could with the therapist chat but Dagger still can't talk excessively, alongside the fact that Nagisa is pretty... Cut-off about his home life and all that. Needed to be careful, I hope Nagisa didn't come off as too OOC?... ^^;  
> I finished all my exams, so all I have on my plate now is my personal project (Christmas artwork for my friends!) and fanfics... Alongside work. Gotta keep up m'work. ^^ I hope you guys enjoyed this latest chapter, and I'll see ya'll if/when I post the next one!]


	8. Chapter 7: Ingredient Gatherings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [An entire chapter on Planet 4546B!... So lots of fishies~...  
> WARNINGS: Brutal description of a gasopod's death (yellow blood is mentioned?). There's also a brief moment where actual blood appears. ^^;]

Her eyes shot open. The pounding was back, but slightly less pronounced. Dagger bounced up from her bed, throwing the covers back. She barely glanced out the window at her watery friends. She was on a time limit- and a pretty severe one, at that. She dashed from the room, shoes pounding against the floor. She slammed into a door on her left at the first junction, throwing it open. The room inside had three glass-case lockers. One housed a wetsuit with orange lines on black material, complete with a rebreather mask, another had several foreign gadgets (all white and glistening with black markings) and the third held miscellaneous items, ranging from titanium chunks to literal diamonds. She wasted no time in pulling the first locker open. The walls and ceiling were all pure white, with lights in the ceiling granting her vision.

Outside, there was the whisper of bubbles and the gurgle of heat. Creatures moaned and groaned in the waters. She ripped off her clothes, donning the wetsuit and mask without a second thought. Her hair was in no more disarray than yesterday, but the manic look in her eyes faded slightly as she slipped into her regular gear. She pulled to the second locker, and everything inside vanished. She threw out her tablet from the unknown, checking her inventory.

One flashlight. One laser cutter. One propulsion cannon. One repair tool. One scanner. One stasis pistol. One thermoblade. Ten slots taken up. She would need to make two trips... Unless...

The propulsion cannon was put away, alongside the scanner. She would be needing neither for this expedition. Next to put back was the laser cutter. She had explored the surface far too many times to actually need that... And this was supposed to be quick, she couldn't afford distractions. She was down to the flashlight, repair tool, stasis pistol, and thermoblade... Four slots. Not as bad, she probably had a few items in the base's storage rooms... A grin crossed her face. Her flippers were pulled from the first locker and quickly vanished into her inventory. She then dashed away from the room. Dagger skidded to a halt at a ladder. She vaulted down, just narrowly avoiding giving herself friction burns. She turned and darted.

Dagger was in the moonpool bay in seconds. She quickly summoned her flippers and put them on, all the while keeping her eyes on her Seamoth. It was a small submersible, built for one person, and colored in light, pastel-sky blue with a few yellow stripes (nearly neon) for an accent. In the dim green lighting, it looked ghastly. A set of black words on the side read 'The Pony Diver'. Dagger hit a button nearby, just beside the loading platform... And the top of the Seamoth opened. She was quick to climb aboard and slip inside. Her hands found the hatch. She pulled it down, sealing herself in the equivalent of a brightly-colored sardine can for the next unknown set of time.

The Seamoth was dropped down into the waters below with a splash. The interior was a darker blue, almost black compared to the bright exterior. The cavern opened up around her, despite the structure of her base blocking some of the sight. It was a large oval of sorts on the walls, elliptical. Her base was set up near the Lost River entrance, where green ooze slid down into the calm blue toxins below. Bright blue manta rays of a sort floated all around, murmuring amongst themselves. Resting in the center of the room (which was easily the size of five football fields, if not more) was a humongous tree. Three translucent blue eggs rested in its leafless branches, each 'branch' ending in bright red nodes that glimmered with warning. Its true name was 'Giant Cove Tree', but she found 'The Egg Tree' to be far more humorous.

A few jellyrays flickered about the tree, although they were outnumbered by their cousins- the ghostrays- which were native to the biome. Suffice to say... Dagger liked the jellyrays, and even down here, decided her life was worth a trip or two back once upon a time to get some eggs to hatch in the cavern. The ghostrays were like an upgrade of the jellyrays, with more flesh between their fins than their skinnier, nearly skeletal cousins. They were all semi-see-through, and their cries... They were so delicate, so soft... So kind, compared to the world she knew.

Dagger turned the Seamoth away with a wave. The Lost River biome awaited her... And beyond that, the Blood Kelp Trench. She pushed the Seamoth forth with its control- a massive two-sided joystick of sorts that rested between her legs, and came up to her chest. She ducked it down into the green muck as the colors of the water changed. She could hear the toxins trying to eat into the metal. The scent of the rot of the dead accented by a hint of mildew (but how that worked, she wasn't quite sure) rose up to greet her.

Far off, a roar straight out of horror's heart itself rang. Dagger forced the Seamoth forward. Her headache was painful, yes, but if she needed to, she could teleport back to her base. She would probably lose the Seamoth (a curse in of itself), but she would manage to keep her life. Whispered hisses echoed everywhere, some far, some near. She could picture the River Prowlers, their skeletal faces flickering through the tunnels, water-whiskers flicking in search of prey. She piloted the Seamoth through, avoiding where she knew skeletal remains were.

The toxins were dipping up ahead- but not down, persay. It was the sort of dip liquid got when something was hitting it from above, repeatedly.- The waterfall of death. That was when the chilling roar returned, this time loud enough to rattle her teeth. The Seamoth angled upward. She gunned it.

"GET BACK BITCH SYRUP!" Dagger screamed. The world beneath her rocked, an explosion of toxin and rock flinging her Seamoth above the muck. She didn't dare look back. She just ran. "THIS BASTARD AIN'T BREAKFAST!" The stupidity of the line accompanied by the angered roar had her grinning like a moron. Dagger shot above the small waterfall and raced forward. Getting back to her base would definitely be difficult, later. She could picture the Ghost Leviathan, head slammed into the toxins, currently drinking in poison like there was no tomorrow. Its mouth was probably agape, all six angles held back while its yellow eyes widened in surprise. The fins would be lashing, based on the crashing noises echoing behind her. She dove back into the muck of the next layer with a laugh. That leviathan's name was now, undoubtedly, 'Bitch Syrup'.

Ahead, a click rang out. Dagger quieted herself. She stuck to the muck, striving under the click and zap as something moved above her. She was sure she knew what it was.- Not something she wanted to face right now. Her heart had picked up its pace, refusing to settle as she snuck her way under the monster above. That grin refused to fall off her face, and in the muck, she could see her faint reflection. Yep, she looked horrendous, especially compared to the kids. She pushed the thought away. Maybe she could get a Deep Shroom for Karma while she was down here... But he would only be allowed to look... And openly tempting such a crafty child was not a smart move. Something for a later date, then.

The rest of her dash from the Lost River was uneventful, with her passing over brine lilies and amoeboids the size of children with little issue. When blood kelp began to rise from the ground, and the mire fell away... The Seamoth was tilted up, and set to top speed immediately. Dagger didn't dare open her tablet, grateful that she still had a beacon active where the life pod had been. The life pod.. It nearly felt like centuries had passed. The Blood Kelp Trench (while still terrifying) was strangely familiar to her. Bioluminescent plants rested on the thin walls, with ghost-white, rope-like strands of kelp-roots arching over the trench in random locations, from one wall to another. Giant pockets of dark red were attached to some- blood oil capsules- and aside from that, there were the zaps of far off Ampeels, the warbles of Warpers, and the reaching, winding branches of the true blood kelp, as opposed to the roots.

She shot out of the Trench at top speed. The depth meter was rapidly going down, guiding her to the surface while she re-aimed her Seamoth for the far-off life pod signal. Life pod five. The start of this mess... And where she'd begin her resource collection journey. Dagger had more than enough titanium to tide her over on most of it. After going over the list numerous times when she was on Earth, she now had a solid plan in place. Drop by a Kelp Forest, get one sample of creepvine and a creepvine seed cluster, attack a gasopod and get some animal fat for soap (for later weeks in the semester), and locate eight quartz (probably in the Sparse Reef). The water color flowed from one kind to another, first dark and menacing like the Blood Kelp Trench, then lighter (but still menacing) for the Dunes, and then it became nearly film-white, so the Grassy Plateaus... The distance between her and the life pod grew ever-shorter. When the water transformed to an ill-green, she paused.

Creepvine stalks filled the waters, waiting for her to come out and get them. Something nearby growled, teeth clapping down on something unknown. She burst out of the Seamoth. Her knife was brandished. That was one of the plus sides of this world's strange video-game physics: the Seamoth never took on water. Her hair was instantly drenched. Dagger kicked her feet, sliding smoothly towards a creepvine. It was like the kelp from Earth, but... Really, really tall. It reached from the shallow ocean floor (eighty meters down) to nearly the surface, flowering out to get as much water as possible near the top. She drew close and took hold. The knife hissed and whined, the edge red-hot and causing bubbles to rise in the water around it.

Dagger's knife sunk into the plant. In seconds, a sizeable chunk of it ripped free. The chunk vanished in an instant, pulled into her inventory without a second thought. A quick glance to her air was met with a self-assured hum of happiness. Dagger made her way down the plant, eyes fixating on the nearest cluster of creepvine seeds. They were yellow, bright and glowing in the murk. They rested on the end of short stalks, held in place by the faintest grasp of their parent-stalk. Dagger reached out. She clamped her hand down on the end of a cluster's branch. The knife sliced clean through, and the branch (along with all the seeds on it) vanished into her inventory. A stalker roared, close by. She spun just in time to sink her knife into an approaching menace.

The stalker howled. The hissing had grown exponentially louder. Dagger yanked her knife back, barely having time to register the injury it had suffered. The stalker- a long, snake-like creature with jaws reminiscent of a chainsaw- took off like a shot in the opposing direction. Light blue with dark blue stripes, and several small fins all along its back. The injury was already cauterized, burned into submission. The stalker disappeared into the thick of the creepvine forest. Dagger swam back to the Seamoth, popping in and stretching her arm. No time to dilly-dally.

The Seamoth took off without a second thought. The creepvines only grew thicker for a time, refusing her freedom. Dagger merely pushed on. They thinned within minutes. The creepvines gave way to a shallow reef of sorts, complete with little colorful fish dashing to and fro. A few bumbling groans from nearby was all the prompting Dagger needed to get out of her Seamoth. She brandished her knife. She just needed to get some of the animal's fat, and then, she could get a recipe for soap!... And if it wasn't difficult, she'd just make some soap before returning to the classroom come Monday. Dagger swam down. The groans got louder. She could see several rather obese fish nearby. They each looked like they had gas masks surgically attached to their faces, with big potbellies that led into a tiny, easily snappable line... That gave way to a massive round tail with holes all over. One of the gasopods yelped. Its dark, putrid green scales flashed as it groaned and farted.

The tail's holes all released little yellow orbs. Dagger dodged. She made a beeline for the nearest gasopod while the others all scattered. The yellow orbs exploded. She held her breath. Fumes filled the water- fumes that would easily have her seeing black in a minute if she wasn't careful. It was by no means deadly, but being paralyzed would allow her prey a chance to escape- and that was not happening. She got close. Her free hand grasped at the gasopod's oddly extended mouth. Her other- the one with the dagger- came down in a rush. A sizzling sound filled the water, alongside bubbles and dark yellow, nearly blackened alien blood. The gasopod had attempted to buck, but those attempts quickly vanished as more blood leaked from its cranium. Dagger kept one hand on the head, the other on the knife, and dove.

She glanced around, vision beginning to fall to black. The yellow fumes were above... She breathed in. Some of the putrid smoke had entered her rebreather regardless, and she was sent into a coughing fit. It was short... Initially.. But it quickly grew in strength and rage, taking her over. Dagger let go of the gasopod corpse, gasping for air between stinging, burning coughs that were now wracking her body. One hand pulled up, resting on her throat. The other desperately tore at the rebreather, but she couldn't stop it. The fumes were already inhaled, and the illness was taking advantage. Something wet splattered against the rebreather. Breath finally returned to her lungs...

And Dagger saw red in her vision. She blinked, breathing in and out... Trying to get the smell of the fumes out of her lungs... Trying to calm down... It was just a little red. It wasn't a lot... But it was getting worse. She forced herself away from her curled position. The gasopod corpse was nearby, floating aimlessly. Dagger reached it in milliseconds. She pulled her weapon from the head, and slowly rotated the body... Before sinking the blade back in. It cut through the harsh exterior like it was butter, burning and searing flesh as it went. Dagger made quick work of the body. The blood that flowed out was partially solid, partially liquid- burned to ash in some areas, and still liquid in others. She pulled at the chunk she had carved from its potbelly. It refused to come off. Dagger glared. She put her feet on the body, crouching down... And pulled.

Her feet slipped right off. Dagger smacked against the body. She bit back a growl. The pain wouldn't be worth it. Dagger stabbed her knife further in. Her hand sunk into its gut. She started cutting into the fat itself, careful not to let her hands stray too close to the knife's edge. She would need air soon... Her tank was running low. The knife cut through, and the fat came free. Dagger grabbed it to the victorious sound of her tablet going off. A new recipe had been unlocked. She bolted for the surface, crashing over the waves and gasping.

Her tank hissed as air was pulled in. The rebreather was clicked off with one hand and run through the water, clearing out the bright crimson on the glass.. And then put back into place. She opened up her tablet while she was above water, instantly running to the recipes section, which hadn't changed in two years.

And there, to her awe and happiness, was a bar of soap.

It required... One slice of gasopod fat- which vanished from her hand the second she noticed it was needed- a few leaves of the violet beau, and... Some cave sulfur. She whined internally. Cave sulfur?! The crash fish were freakin' evil-... Okay, not anywhere near as evil as some of the monstrosities she'd faced... But still evil. Her eyes flashed around, spotting a white bump on the ocean's surface nearby, above the water only by sun-bleached, once-orange floatation devices. In red was the number five... Her life pod. A quick stop in and she could have a medkit, heal from the gasopod's attack... Get attacked by crash fish, get cave sulfur, and swim home.

She slid towards the life pod. The guts on her hands washed away in the salt water, leaving her with cleaned gloves. Dagger made her way to the yellow rungs on the side of the life pod. She pulled herself up, grunting. The top of the life pod was opened, and Dagger hopped inside. Inside was a small little room, with two chairs, a medkit fabricator, and a storage unit. There were several beeping consoles on the walls, and a ladder in the center that led to an entrance/exit both in the ceiling and the floor. She threw the medkit fabricator's door open and snagged the green-coated kit. It popped out of existence, and instantly, Dagger found her health raised. The pain in her throat faded, nullified for the time being by her medkit. She opened the bottom hatch and slid down... Back into the ocean.

The Safe Shallows were a second home... Well. A third home- but still a home. Dagger made her way down, eyes roaming over the colorful coral and dashing with the little fish that raced by. She had nearly forgotten how gorgeous this place looked... It was a far cry from the green toxins of the Lost River, the death of the Blood Kelp Trench... She was so entranced that it took the quickly growing siren sound of a crash fish to surprise her into action. She turned, yelping in a panic. Her legs worked overtime, forcing her as far away as she could while the squeal grew ever higher.- And then an explosion sent her spiraling a few feet forward. She hadn't taken damage- she- holy frix, yes!

Dagger spun to see the last remnants of the explosion being ripped in all directions... Erasing any sign of the crash fish's pointless death. A grin crossed Dagger's face. Cave sulfur, resting in the plant she'd overlooked in her thoughts... Two ingredients down, one to go....!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [So, college is over until the 18th of January! I'll be working on this off and on (as well as some other fanfics of mine I really need to wrap up). I wanted to get the Subnautica chapter off my chest, but I do plan to add in more Subnautica chapters later in the series!... After all, wouldn't be a proper crossover otherwise~. Next chapter, we'll be back on planet Earth! ^^  
> Also, the Kudos/Hits on this fanfic have freakin' JUMPED. Holy crap, y'guys- thank you so much for reading this story (or at least being intrigued). I'm really happy you're all interested! Here's to hoping you're okay with my insanity... We're really early on in Assassination Classroom, and only at the (canon-wise) midway point in Subnautica.  
> Love ya'll, and I will see you in the next chapter, if/when I decide to post it! ^^]


	9. Chapter 8: Builder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Lots of Dagger being solo this chapter, and wrapping up with a kinda-conversation between Dagger and Korosensei! ^^]

Dagger sat upright, holding her head as the dreaded headache returned. Once more, the pain... Seemed less. Not a large amount, definitely, but... Enough to be ever-so-faintly detectable... But another round of fire through her skull was enough to dissuade her from thinking on it further. She hissed between her teeth. The tablet fell off her chest, landing on her legs. It was opened to the inventory... She did a quick once-over (okay, it was slow- cut her some slack, headaches suck). Yep... Everything... Was accounted for... Which meant she'd have to get to where she wanted her base... And start building. The tablet was summarily put away. She stood up from the ratty couch, stretching her arms out and leaning back. A few pops sounded out.

She smiled faintly.

".... 'Bitch Syrup'... What'm...- Pancakes." A snicker escaped her. Dagger made her way to the door, her plans for the day all in place. Last she checked, it was Sunday.... Which meant that the kids wouldn't be on the mountain. At best, she'd be stuck with Karasuma, mayyyybe Korosensei... And she hadn't had to deal with Professor Bitch yet, so she was free of that insanity for now...

A small skip entered her step. Cero's smile was pained and slight, but she didn't mind.- For the most part. It definitely screwed up her thought processes... She nearly slammed into the front doors instead of actually opening them. One hand lazily wound around the handle, with Dagger shoving it open a second before she stumbled out from under the shelter.- And into bitter cold.

It was like a bit of a smack in the face. Dagger blinked, for a second caught off-guard. Wasn't it... Nearly summer? That's what it had been in the anime, right? Nearly summer. She shook her head. Maybe she was remembering incorrectly... But she could have sworn...- Well, it was... Forty-some odd episodes, right? They probably jumped over the winter months and started closer to the summer era... They had had a few summer points relatively early on, after all... An exhale escaped her. Her breath was lightly visible in the morning cold.

"If...." Dagger turned to the left. " _.... Iiiiffff~..._ " The beginnings of a note was held there. She immediately dropped it. Her vocals could stand talking at this point, maybe- but song? Nooooot even close. It was tempting, though. " _.... Iiiii_ -ff-" She snapped her fingers. ".... Voice crack..." Whatever the case... She definitely had a good three-hour walk ahead of her.- That would be more than enough to keep her warm (hopefully). The sun was just beginning to rise, painting the building in the orange-purple of a new day. The forest's shadow drifted close to the classroom, never quite touching... A graze, close by. Clouds were every here and there, drifting by on thoughts of nonexistence. The world was lightly saturated with color, greens and browns and a few blues and whites... Orange and purple... It was so much more than what her bases had... A bit less than the Floating Island, but thaaaat was something else entirely.

Dagger ambled towards the woods, her plan laid out... And her day set.

[]

She spun around. The tool in her hand burst to life. It was small- nearly a burrito in size. Her hand was over a white handle, with a protruding top much like a woman's electric razor. However, two circular obstructions rested on the top instead, with whirring mechanics inside. A bright blue light burst from the ends, highlighting the humongous room that Dagger was intent on building. The room was, of course, a habitat- for herself. She had found an alcove on one of the mountains, inward-turned... And thankfully deep enough for at least three multipurpose rooms. Thanks to the way the alcove had been carved, the sun never quite reached inside... So her _~~home~~_ base would constantly be in darkness. That was definitely a high positive. A thought temporarily hit her to eventually build a moonpool, if possible... And put a Prawn Suit in, just in case. After all, she was part of the 'Assassination Classroom'...

.... Wonder what the Prawn Suit would look like with an anti-Sensei attachment... She snickered.

The titanium pulled from her inventory, scraplets of metal flinging out from her body and crashing into the hologram of the multipurpose room. It began to form, light slowly morphing into cold, hard titanium. Only when the builder snapped back did she lower it. This habitat was closest to the outside world, resting just on the floor of the area. It was circular, kind of like a giant kiddie-pool that had metal sides... And a metal ceiling. Its sides and top were all white, with multiple hatches for attachments. The underside was a deep, dark blue.

Dagger raised the builder again, switching over to a hatch. She couldn't build a door, strictly speaking. It would take too many materials for her first trip. No, she had to settle for the well-known hatch instead, narrowing her bed from a king size (oh how she would have loved that) to a twin, and waiting until her next trip to put any fish in the aquarium. The hatch's hologram whirred into existence. It was quickly replaced with metal... And a circle of glass, so she could see anyone coming. Titanium and quartz alike exited her body, crashing into the hologram and rendering it real in fifteen seconds.

Once the hatch was built, Dagger pulled it open. It was just the faintest hint chilly outside, but not terribly so. It had definitely been worse when she first got up... She slipped inside.

" **Warning: Emergency power only. Oxygen production offline.** " Dagger rolled her eyes. The hatch had come pre-built with a tiny corridor, and a few steps that led down into the multipurpose room. Light blue carpet was on all the floors, and it was nearly pitch-black. The only light came from the hatch's glass. Dagger brandished her building tool, quickly flipping over to the bioreactor. The hatch had been left open, allowing cool air to waft into the building... And hopefully remove the 'new car' smell. A light blue hologram showed up in the center of the multipurpose room. A control panel- circular- atop which an orb sat. It had pipes leading into the ceiling. Dagger spun the blueprint around until the control panel was facing her. She always preferred knowing if the base had power or not before entering...

The process began. This time, titanium flew out from her- as did a canister with a yellow tear-drop shape on it, and a kit that was white (with many wires inside). When all was said and done... She had a bioreactor before her. It was silvery-white like everything else, with four glass panels in the bottom of the orb to allow one to see the blades that would spin inside it. There was a hatch near the top, which was probably where it was meant to have materials put in... The glass was all outlined with black, the wires were black as well... But the control panel's interface was a deep blue, matching her tablet to a T. Dagger tapped it as the visual came on. Dim red letters popped into existence, reading ' **INACTIVE** '. She pulled out her tablet. The build tool vanished from her hand as she rested the tablet atop the control panel... And both lit up.

Resting in her inventory were two massive fruits. They were shaped also much like tear-drops, with one end being long and pointed and the other stout and rounded. There was some yellow from inside the fruit that was popping out the top, and there was a nearly cap-like appearance to it. She tapped both... And the lights came on with a whir as they vanished from her inventory.

" **Power restored. All primary systems online.** " She grinned. Dagger turned 'round. She pulled the tablet off the control panel, knowing that the letters would now be green, bright, and reading ' **ONLINE** '. She could see all the interior panels as she exited the mini-base, but her job wasn't quite done yet. The builder appeared in-hand yet again. She could only make one more multipurpose room this time around, so it would be a bit cramped for a week... But that was a price she was willing to pay. She could sprawl out while she was at her main base (and suffering from the headache, 'wooooo'...). Dagger slid around the first multipurpose room. She noticed her free hand touch something... Wet. Hopefully water. If not, she'd rub it off on the way back to the campus... And deal with the hideousness of that later.

The faint outline of another multipurpose room sprang to life. Dagger wasted no time in building it up, and then retreating back to the base's entrance. She moved her hand into the light for a moment, examining it... Nope, nothing hideous that she could tell... Save a few-.... Green.. She shook her head. Nope, nope. She was fine. She was okay. She had to be. She couldn't... Afford... That. Dagger pulled herself into the base. Next on her list... Building her bed, building the aquarium... And collapsing until the headache passed.

On the bright side, she'd be without it come Monday morning... A welcome trade-off... Kind of. She didn't like dealing with it at present. Dagger ran her hand along the wall of the small passageway. Whatever the case... She still had some building to get done... And then she'd probably nap straight into Monday.

[]

Dagger's eyes shot open. The world was quiet, save the low thrum of the bioreactor just a door away. The ceiling was a little further away than Dagger would like it to be. She moved to sit up, only for a dull, throbbing pain to make its presence known on her side. She flinched. Her bed was...- Ah.. That explained it. Her bed was to her right, and the blanket that usually rested on it was draped half-on the platform, half-on her. It was nearly an alluvial fan, spread out from such a thin source into a mark so wide. A tickle burned in her throat. She pulled her tablet open, laying it on the floor beside her and turning it to the files section. One of the audiofiles started up, her voice in the background as she moved to clean up her miniature mess.

"I miss chocolate. Do you know what chocolate tastes- I guess not. You're a-... Well yeah, but I just..." There was a sigh from the tablet's recording. Dagger rested the blanket on the bed. "... I miss the taste. I miss the taste of most things, really.- Creamy, gooey grilled cheese with crunchy bread, the soft warmth of chicken noodle soup, the sweet meanderings of Oreos on the tongue... But nope. Freakin'... Peepers. I'd eat the other fish, but the Peepers are the only ones w-" She stopped the recording there. That was an awful one to play... Although none of them were particularly great. She sighed silently. She'd make her bed, and then, since her mind refused to let her sleep... She'd probably just head to the schoolhouse and deal with what she could there.

The blanket was lightly situated to cover the actual mattress, but not the pillow at the top. It was a simple, stark gray- both it and the mattress. The pillow was cloud-white, nearly a pearl on a shell. Dagger pulled her hands back. The tickle became too much, and she broke down into another coughing fit.

" **A self-scan is advised.** " The tablet chimed. Dagger picked it up and promptly threw it at a wall.... To no avail. The device smacked into the wall with a loud ' ** _KLCK!_** ' before falling to the floor with a muffled thump. It flickered and glitched, for a second morphing into nothing but lines of code, before vanishing from sight... And she knew it was in her storage. Screw that. The lack of proper sleep had ruined her batteries, but she was still feeling better off than the day before. Dagger made her way towards the front of the base, pulling the hatch open to reveal a star-dotted sky, and a city nearby... Glowing bright enough to cancel out any hint of stars over its own head. Dagger was grateful she could see some... But it definitely had nothing on the stars of her own world.

The world she had resided in lived off of game rules, which meant... So long as she didn't scan herself... The virus wouldn't progress. She finally came out of her coughing fit, one hand pressed to her chest while the other had gone to her knee. She was bent over, ready to collapse as her vision swam... But it was done... She breathed in, the itch in her throat roaring to life. Dagger blinked back tears.

... Okay.... Maybe she'd wait a few minutes before going to the school.

[]

She had forgotten about the assassins. That thought had hit her like a sack of bricks as she glanced out of her base yet again. There was no way she'd get to the school building without being spotted if she walked, and one or two might be in her room at that very moment. So, she had her stasis pistol in hand, ready to knock some jerks out if she spotted any. All she had to do was think about it... And she was in the therapy room. The window was closed, blinds drawn, and the door was in its proper place... Nothing out of the ordinary. She glanced up. No one hiding in the ceiling... But there was the problem of a hole... She would have to talk to the principal about that (although she doubted he'd do jack-diddly concerning it, so it was a total waste of time).

Dagger made her way to the couch, where she had slept on for the first week. The fabric was as ratty as ever... She pulled towards the door- only to... Hear a noise... Down the hall?

She pressed the side of her head against the wood. Slithering. It was softer than usual, less pronounced, and frankly, slowed. Either Korosensei was tired, or there were a lot of snakes in the building (how joyous). She opted more towards the first option, but that meant she'd have to explain how she got around the octopus without being noticed... Well, if he already knew she was from another world, that wouldn't matter anyway.

She pulled back from the door. There wasn't much she could do... What was she thinking??

Outside of beating Karasuma to the campus (she still wasn't sure what he was doing, since he wasn't helping the kids with their physical education yet), she didn't have anything to do. The best she could hope for would be to use her phone to look up more data on how to be a proper therapist... Either that, or catch up on all the WiFi-only apps she hadn't been able to properly spam for the past three years. Dagger shuffled back to the couch and sat down. Her phone came out of her pocket, and with it, came a dim light.

There was a knock on her door. Well. That plan probably just went up in absolute flames. Loooovely...

"... You may come in." At least her voice had gotten better. The door creaked open, and in slithered the tentacle-monster himself. Dagger was pretty sure that there were a wide variety of fans that would go off-the-walls squealing if they even met him, but she was frankly more concerned about how much the guy knew, and how much he didn't. He probably knew about the world thing, but his expression was nigh-unreadable without the proper coloration.

"Good morning, Dagger!" Korosensei bowed slightly. It was weird to see him bo-... Was he shorter than last week? Her eyebrows quirked up. "I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who likes to get an early start on the day.. However, isn't this a tad _too_ early? It's not even five in the morning, yet." She glanced towards Korosensei. The phone shut off.

"... Couldn'' sleep." She shrugged. "... Gooh mornin' to y'too." She nodded. Korosensei was already standing straight once more. Indeed, he was at least a foot or two shorter- maybe even three- but he still towered. She would need to check the wiki when she got back to her main base (couldn't let him see something that would so fundamentally break his character, after all).

"... I suppose that's acceptable. Still, everyone needs sleep!" He waved a tentacle, as if brushing off the topic. "I hope you're ready for this week! I heard from Karasuma that we're going to be adding a new, bright mind to the class!"

 **Karma**.

He didn't exist yet in the class... Which meant that it was his turn at the plate. The tech girl (the name escaped Dagger) wasn't there yet either, nor was anger-phone-boy. That meant that Karma was the newcomer... Especially since it was so early on in the year. When Dagger had watched the anime as an outsider, she had laughed, enjoying Karma's dark and twisted nature. It was much like her own when she was in middle and high school- but this was no longer a world separated by glass and fiction. This was reality.

She watched Korosensei, knowing that her expression had only changed by the slightest hair from the one before. Gradually, her eyebrows fell back down to her eyes, and she hummed.

"... A new studen'... Can't wait..." Oh, she could wait. A thousand years, if not more. She may have missed human interaction, but not **that** much. "... I'm sure he'll be... Interesting..." She glanced back to her phone screen. Black, reflective.

"Indeed! Although for now, I suppose all we can do is speculate. Who knows, maybe this new student will be just the spark to get everyone really trying to kill me~!" She bit back a laugh. Dagger's eyes shot to Korosensei. The guy was beaming ear to ear (although he didn't have any ears, and it was so rare that his face wasn't set in a smile). It took everything in her not to laugh just at how happy he was. The dude was being targeted, and here he was, so happy about the whole ordeal. It was equal parts depressing and hilarious. Dagger, of course, focused more on the hilarious side of the coin. The other would just make the entire atmosphere dark and depressing.

"I'' put five bets on that." She grinned. "Buuuuh I'm nohonna risk it.... Mind letting me know how the new kid does? Adjustments n' all thah." She put her phone down on the couch. Her southern tone was out in full swing, and more than a trite noticeable, even to her own ears.

"I wouldn't mind at all!" His tentacles were nearly dancing across the freaking floor. That... That was just lightly unsettling. "But I don't know what day the new student will start, so you'll just have to wait and see~." .... _Hopefully Friday_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Apologies for the delay, everyone. I had plenty of projects weighing on my back for Christmas (I wanted to get art out to several of my friends!) and then I got sucked up in making new OCs and RP blogs. After all that, I've finally managed to complete this chapter! ^^  
> I also didn't want to do a 'Christmas special' (since we're nowhere near Christmas time in the fanfic), although I may make 'special' days in the fanfic for when the holiday in question would hit in-universe.- Because even I can't resist that kind of fluff~...  
> (Although I can't resist fluff period, so... ;>_> )  
> Welcome back to Earth, I hope ya'll had a Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Holidays... And let's hope 2021 is better than 2020 (but I'm not holding my breath- nothing gets better overnight, after all).  
> Also, for reference: anytime Dagger says something and it ends in two apostrophes 'don'''- the second apostrophe is because, being southern, her accent has replaced the hard 't' with a softer 'h' noise. This will also occur in areas where there should be a t, but instead there's an apostrophe. Bein' sou'ern is weird. (You can fight me on this, but I have a southern accent and I speak all of Dagger's lines myself after writing them [to edit in the accent]- when she's tired or angry, her accent is far more pronounced, hence why the apostrophes will show up more in such moments and less when she's more awake/in control.)  
> I hope to see y'all in the next chapter... If/when I make it. ^^  
> And danke for all the kudos/hits! Ya'll are freakin' epic!! :D  
> -Writer]


	10. Chapter 9: School Day (Kinda)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [I tried to do more conversation-based stuff this chapter. I've been rewatching Assassination Classroom with my brother and nearly slipped Irina into the series a bit early. ^^; But first... We've got Karma's insanity to deal with, after a chapter of Korosensei and Dagger out n' about! I'm trying to take it slow (this fic was started so I could be self-indulgent), but... They do only have a calendar year.- So I may speed it up a bit (more along the lines of my shorter fics as opposed to my longer, despite how long this fanfic may become based on how many chapters I've got per episode at the moment).  
> And, a note about later: **The fanfic's rating may change in the future. I don't know if it truly will, but consider this the warning. I don't know, though... If the fanfic's rating does change, I will make sure the chapters in question will have tags appropriate for them in their titles, as well as in the full fanfic's tags (and I will up the rating on the website, if at all possible).**

There was a bit on Dagger's mind that morning. For one, Karma- presumably- would be joining the class very soon. This meant Korosensei would be on high alert for a day or so. For another, the assassins that would be coming after the octopus might discover her home- so she would have to lock or hide it, somehow... Maybe she could somehow tear off a mesmer's fins and get those into a recipe for sort-of camouflage?... Probably not. Other than that... She had little to focus on that morning... Up until there was another knock at her door.

"Come in." Her voice had decently recovered. It actually sounded... Human. This helped with blending in, but to her ears, the noise was still a hint foreign. It was as if there was something underlying it, but she couldn't be certain. It sounded like her, through and through... Yet it was... Off.

"This arrived for you." Karasuma, dry and tone-dead as always. He marched into the room, every bit the military man his job claimed him to be. An envelope was held out to Dagger. She took it. Once more, indecipherable, all aside from the name printed in the corner. Without so much as another word, Karasuma turned. He was out the door with three quick and sharp steps, each one hammering a nail into Dagger's skin. Of all of them, Karasuma was by far the most unsettling... She breathed in... Before cautiously trying to open the envelope. She instead immediately tore the top. A low growl of annoyance escaped her.

"... Really...!" She gave up on preserving the envelope. It was ripped to shreds in short order, a folded piece of paper and many... Many... Were those bills?- Oh, they- they were probably yen? They looked nothing like what she remembered of American currency, but they were fancier... She looked them over, eyes wandering to the number at the top. She slowly, carefully, pulled the money into her inventory. It would be difficult for anyone to steal off of her when only she could use the tablet... Well, she assumed only she could. Who knew? It wasn't something she wanted to test, at any rate.

At least she had a paycheck... She already had a bar of homemade soap back at her main base on 4546B, but she could always buy a few things while she was here... Topping the list was definitely breath mints and a toothbrush... And then a comb... And she severely needed to get her hair cut... A silent exhale escaped her, one hand going up to run along her forehead. She had only just gotten her first paycheck (of sorts) and it was already burning a hole in her pocket. How typical of her previous lifestyle. At least she was thinking more in line with 'I need this' as opposed to 'I WANT'.

Speaking of... There was no way she wouldn't be buying candy while here. Just the thought had her mouth watering.- She had long forgotten the true sensation of candy, given up on tasting that sugary goodness... And now, the ability to have it was once more in her grasp. Dagger would've jumped and yelled, had it not been during the schoolday. She settled for silently pumping her fists in the air, mouthing exclamations of joy while she tried not to stomp her feet on the floor. Later today, she was probably going to spend the check painfully fast- but she had a base that ran on energy she didn't get from the government, she had water and food from her planet... And she had spent three years on spotty WiFi (it really only cropped up every few days). She could handle this... It would probably also mean, hilariously, that she could dump all of her money into either saving or entertainment.- And the government wouldn't be able to stop her.

A ringing noise filled the room. Dagger cautiously dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone, checking what time it was... Lunch. Nice. She stood from the couch, giving herself a gentle brush-down. Even if she only hung around the door, it would be nice to actually get to know the kids... She was supposed to be their therapist, after all... But if they started giving her odd looks, she'd leave them be (knowing how she'd done so far, she expected it). A bottle of water was summoned to her hand before she dared step out of her room... And only when she could feel it around her fingers did she leave.

The walk was quick, but even so, she could hear the telltale 'WOOSH!' as Korosensei presumably vanished to get himself some food. Her nerves came to life, roaring across her mind with concerns and worries about how the kids would react to her. Her heart sped up just a little, panic settling in even as she opened the door. The kids were already beginning to talk amongst themselves, several having gotten their lunches out, and some standing (presumably to go towards the door?). Dagger shifted so that she was leaning against the door itself, but angled inward. She uncapped her bottle and took a sip.

The conversations inside had dipped when she had shown up at the threshold, but thankfully slowly began returning to normal as the minutes ticked by. Dagger listened lightly, never managing to catch proper names, but catching ideas and the like.

A few of the girls were going to go look up better decapitation methods after school, some of the boys were wondering on if the anti-Sensei BBs were dissolvable, and a few others were considering going to some new arcade... Intermixed were the standard conversations about homework, a few mentioning home lives but never anything specific... Just general topics.

"Miss Hilt, do you want to join Kayano and I?" Nagisa.. She glanced towards the kid, grateful to have a responder.

"I wouldn't mind it." She smiled lightly. "Are you and Kayano okay with that?"

"Of course." Nagisa nodded his head. He began to move back into the classroom, and Dagger made her way around the desks, following him.- Nagisa's desk was one over from the window, and Kayano's... Was right up against it. She kneeled against the wall, noting that the other desks had all been moved away from the two... Save one, which was empty... She cautiously stood back up and sat down in the free chair, and took another sip of her water bottle.

"Hey, Miss Hilt." Kayano grinned lightly. "Didja hear about Sugino this morning?" Dagger quirked an eyebrow.

"... No...? What happened?"

"Sugino tried to pin Korosensei with a fastball made of anti-him BBs. Korosensei just got a catcher's mitt and snagged it before we could blink- the guy's been pretty broken up about it." He ate a chip. "... Hasn't stopped being down all day..." Nagisa blinked, before sitting upright. "Oh yeah- I gotta go turn something in before I forget- I'll be back soon!" He dug into his pack- a sort of over-the-shoulder sling that nearly looked like a giant purse over a backpack... And snagged a paper. He left, leaving Dagger alone with Kayano... In a room of virtual strangers.

"So, you're the new therapist?" Kayano smiled between bites of her lunch. Dagger bobbed her head lightly.

"... Yes. Although I must admit, I've never had any experience as a therapist before.- So... Don't expect brilliance." She found herself smiling faintly. "I'll just try m'best." Kayano giggled.

"Don't worry about it. This is E-Class, we're pretty used to low-treatment." That... Dagger paused. She watched Kayano as she ate for a few seconds, wondering how to properly respond to the kid.

"... Au contraire, I have no intent of treating any of you lowly.- You're all worthy of respect and honor, just as much as any other human being, and I have every intent of treating you as such... Your principal... Well, he scares the crap out of me, buuut it's tempting to treat him like dirt." That... Was met with a quiet laugh. Dagger grinned. "... Still too much of a coward for that, though... But eh." She shrugged before taking another swig of her drink.

"It's a nice thought, though." Kayano hummed. "But not much we can do about it... Unless we want to get expelled."

"Or fired."

"... Yeah." Her eyes drifted to her food. Kayano's smile faded, vanishing at the mere thought that they were powerless. Dagger thought over her options. The tablet... Wouldn't end well, not right now.- Buuut... She could probably show some photos from her phone...

".. Apologies about the sudden topic change, but... Do you wanna look at some photos I took while I was traveling abroad?" And that smile was back.

"Yes!" It couldn't hurt to share a few photos... Right? Her phone was unlocked, and she swung it over to the albums she had. The first on the screen was one of Dagger, dressed in her Alterra diving outfit, posing in front of a crabsnake egg. The place she was in was purple-ish pink, and the egg was striped. Dagger's mouth was covered with a strange device of sorts that had grates on the front, and her visor across her eyes reflected the top of the jellyshroom she had been inside. Her visor was echoing bright, startling pink. "Where's that?" Ah- crap-

"... A deep cavern. I had been doing some deep-diving, nowhere near my deepest... I found some pretty big critters that laid those eggs... And I wanted to take one home with me." Dagger chuckled. "... It took an age to hatch, but it did after a while... The guy's tiny compared to his natural-born relatives... But he was pretty cute."

"Do you have a picture of him?" Fuck.

"I don't have any pictures of him, sorry." Dagger gave a half-embarrassed smile. "The guy's pretty cute... Maybe, one day, I'll show him to ya, if I can get a decent photo of him."

"May I ask- how'd your phone... Survive?" She blinked. That... She wasn't sure how to answer.

"... I don't know. It's just... Really good at high pressures, I guess." Dagger shrugged. "It's never shorted out on me, no matter how deep I've dived."

"... How deep have you gone, then?"

_A whisper of tech, in the bubbling quiet._

_"Infected creature detected. Alerting other agents."_

".... I'd rather not say. The ocean gets pretty scary depending on how deep you go." Dagger's smile had fallen. She swiped across the images, coming to a picture... Of the Bulb Zone. She immediately swiped away from it... And to the Floating Island.. Specifically... A picture from the top of one of the hills on the island. "... I've done a bit of exploration in my life- this was another one of the places I found... One of the few above the ocean line.. I like to call it 'The Floating Island'." Kayano's expression had fallen at her words, but it rose once more upon sight of the alien life.- Dagger knew it was a bit of a gambit, but so long as none of the animals were around (and this wasn't shown to the other classmates), she'd be fine. "... It was a bit out of my way, but I like to think the view was worth it."

"I can see why!" Kayano grinned. "Did you find anything tasty on the island?" Dagger bobbed her head lightly.

"Yep, I did- something I call a 'lantern fruit'. It's like... A weird mix of a few fruits.- But it's sweet and delicious all the same." Annnd Kayano's eyes lit up. Dagger wasn't sure how the glow in her eyes even worked, but it was there.

"Can I taste one?!"

"... No." Dagger clicked her phone off at a sudden gust of wind... Korosensei had come back. "The only sample I have is currently being used for other purposes- and I can't guarantee it's safe. Transport from its local environment to here rarely goes well." She winked. "But maybe, one day, I'll manage to get you one- alright?"

"... Alright. But I'm gonna hold you to that." Kayano tilted her head, closing her eyes in that anime-style that Dagger knew so well. It seemed some of the anime held true in this reality... More than she expected. Dagger moved to stand up, turning the phone off and pocketing it.

"Feel free to come to my room and chat anytime." She returned the odd head-tilt, closing her eyes with a slight smile.. Before opening them, and making her way towards the door. Korosensei was currently tentacles-deep in some sushi roll of some sort.

"Goodbye, miss Hilt!" She glanced over her shoulder. There was a lot she wanted to get out.. He already knew about the planet thing... Maybe later.

"'Til later, Korosensei." And she was out the door.

[]

She had nearly gone to get Sugino before Korosensei had stopped her. As it turned out... Sugino was just as energetic as ever, and all the more intent on causing problems. A small chat with Korosensei had been all the kid had needed to get his spark back... And so she had backed off, deciding instead to return to her room....

Dagger paused as she glanced into the faculty room- lounge- yeah, lounge. It had... Changed, since last she'd seen it. There were now four desks, all metallic. They were seated in one of those 'group of four' configurations- two folks facing two folks, parallel. There was a water fountain in the corner of the room, and a heater in the other... But the heat in the room was more than enough for her already. Karasuma was seated at one of the desks, presently typing something up. He didn't even look up from his work, instead continuing to type away as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. On one desk, there was nothing. It was across from Karasuma. Beside that desk was another one, coated in books (all closed) and blank papers. Probably Korosensei's desk. Across from that... Was an empty desk. Presumably... Her's... The way the desks had been arranged, she and (eventually) professor Bitch would have to sit beside men at all corners. She shook her head. At least she had nothing worth being creepy over.

She dared to wander inside and sit down at her desk. Her chair was metal as well, cold to the touch- but definitely nicer than the couch in the therapist room... She'd be replacing that eventually... Probably on her next trip to and from 4546B... She also had to think of another name for the place, especially if she intended on taking notes.... Perhaps... Sub Avenue?

She had to bite back a small snicker. 'Sub Avenue' it was... Karasuma's eyebrow went up. Dagger stilled. She had been nearly vibrating with laughter. She glanced around the desk... Nothing to use, and she couldn't use the tablet without alerting Karasuma to her... Origins... Kinda... She went for the phone instead, knowing its charge would fall until she returned to her world... But there were probably phone chargers somewhere. She could purchase one while in town.. Hopefully.

"Ah, I see we're all here." Korosensei spoke from the doorway. Dagger cast a glance the octopus. He laughed. In the next split second, he was seated at his desk- one tentacle over the papers to keep them from scattering all over the room. "And I see you've finally taken to your desk, miss Hilt."

"... Just came in. Didn't realize the place had been worked on..." She hummed. "Didn't really focus on much outside of planning ever since I got here..."

"Ah, having fun, then~?" Korosensei was smirking, green stripes slowly coming into form upon his face. Dagger rolled her eyes. That... Was hard to ignore.

"Yes, but probably not what you're thinking... Just trying to figure out how to get around town later." She opened her phone and started a new Notes document. "... I may be fluent in the language, speaking-wise, but reading?... I'm not even near prepare-"

"Worry not, I shall accompany you!" And there was Korosensei, one tentacle-hand over her shoulder. Dagger froze. The immediate desire to teleport to her base came to mind. She threw the suggestion out the window before she could actually commit to the act. She slowly glanced up. He was stooped over her, grinning as per usual.. But it was just a bit creepy in this manner. And he was gone, flicked into his chair (and desk) without a care. "So, when did you want to leave?"

".... I... Was fine with whenever." Karasuma had raised his head.. And it was back down, typing once more. She could only guess he was calling in some assassins to follow her and Korosensei later. "I just need to get some soap... A charger... And some sweets." Korosensei peeked up from his work, trained on Dagger. She breathed in slowly. ".... Can't spend my days just eating fish...." A small shake of the head. "... I'll make a list while you're working on... Whatever it is you need to." She started tapping away at her phone. She was definitely nowhere near Korosensei's speed, but her personal typing speed easily put most phone-users to shame. In less than a minute, she had a decent list... Not the best, but a list nonetheless. Across from her, Korosensei was a virtual blur, writing up papers and stacking them (with a paper weight) on one side, while he read through three books at once and grabbed more blank paper. Dust had risen where he was sat.

The pages were virtually flying- although she could guess that they truly were. The stack of blank pages was dying by the second. She was pretty sure it-

"I'm ready when you are!" It... Was gone.

"Then let's head out." Dagger stood from her desk. She had taken one step to the door, and Korosensei was already... Skin-colored. He even had a fake nose placed on his face, but she was pretty sure it could fall off any second. Most of his tentacles were hidden, save two with hands on their ends... Which had gloves on them. It was easy to see that three of the five digits were empty, and only two existed. ".... Speedy."

"Thank you!" Korosensei bowed for a split second. "Now then, I think it would be best if we headed to a general market- I'll try to keep it semi-close to the school." Was it just her, or did his grin sharpen for a second?

" _Danke_." She noticed that the underlying strangeness in her voice died with that word... She'd have to test that out later. The sun was still shining... And she was about to go out into the town with an octopus.

This was definitely a weird-as-fuck class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! ^^ I had fun writing it- although it took me a little while to make. Next on the list.. A chapter completely... Devoted... To conversation. I am so, so thoroughly screwed. If anyone needs me, I shall die quietly in a corner while simultaneously questioning my choice in sanity.... And it's probably going to be semi-proofread several times over. ^^; Either that or I'll post it and scream. Or both. Maybe.  
> I hope to see ya'll in the next chapter~ if/when I post it. ^^]


	11. Chapter 10: Coughs and Convos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [A mega-conversation between Korosensei and Dagger, alongside a super-coughing fit for a hot minute! ^^ This chapter had a bit more actual-convo than others, and I hope it went over well~. Please let me know what you thought!  
> I'm just a tad worried that I played Korosensei off as too OOC?... ^^;]

"... Sometimes, I forget what this planet is really like." Dagger muttered. Her steps were light, quiet, as she traversed down the dirt path. She was grateful Korosensei hadn't immediately gone for a flight, but she wondered.. Well, why.

"Really, now?" Korosensei was slithering across the dirt. She knew there was an explanation for the cleanliness, but it evaded her. "Care to explain yourself, miss Hilt?" Dagger glanced towards Korosensei. He was looking at her. She stared into his eyes for a second, the confusion of staring at beady black eyes (although there was some white there) was disconcerting.

"... Just call me 'Dagger', please."

".. Dagger, then." Korosensei giggled like a schoolgirl. "My question remains unanswered, though."

"... Yes, I do care to explain myself." She smirked.

"Wh- REALLY??" Korosensei was now staring at her, mouth open to reveal red within. "C'MON, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT!" Dagger snickered. Okay... That was too easy.

"Maybe when you've earned it.... For now, not so much. Allow me to maintain what little 'mystery' I have." Oh, payback was so sweet~.... Even if it wasn't technically payback, yet.

"OH COME ON!" Korosensei shouted. Dagger laughed. Okay, that- that was just... She was gonna cherish that. "I just wanna know!!"

"And you'll find out, in your own time." She raised a hand, waving it lightly through the air. "First on the list was soap.. Although I won't be able to use it until Saturday." She was grateful she had already used some before teleporting back... Although using it had proven difficult. She couldn't properly go in the ocean and bathe, so she had been forced to bathe in her base- in a wall-raised basin filled with filtered water. The remains of it had been transported back to the filtration machine, and she could keep reusing the soap for ages to come.. Although she'd have to store it somewhere else eventually...

"Why not? You never know what could happen between today and Saturday."

".. Eh... I need to give the filtering machine time to catch up." Thinking about it... She wouldn't be able to use it forever. Even bathing as much as she already had would take a day to clean out.... And the leftover soap was toxic to the environment, or so she would handle it.- She needed to find a way to-...

.... She could teleport the bathwater with her to Earth... And find a sewer line... And dump it. Dagger internally facepalmed. That was one way to do it.

"It takes the filtration machine a week to clean out any impurities in the water I use.- And I live in a very natural location, so... I have to give it time for the water to be made pure... And take the leftovers to a drop off location of sorts." She hummed. "... I'll probably just teleport the bathwater into the main sewer line... But I'd actually need to find one, first." She shook her head.

"...Teleportation?" Korosensei snickered. "You can't be serious." Dagger stopped walking. Korosensei stopped less than a foot in front of her.

"..... Or am I?" She giggled and returned to her walk. That face would be her death.

"In this world, one can only guess... And that makes it so much more _exciting_!" His tentacles sped up, slithering to and fro with joyful energy. Dagger couldn't help but smile at that.

[]

The lights of the shop were bright and glaring, humming quietly from the ceiling. The floor was a marble mix-and-match of black and white, and all the shelves were put together perfectly. The rows were all labeled in Japanese, which left Dagger with little option but to guess- or follow Korosensei, which was a hint uncomfortable. She had still taken his advice for what row to initially go down, and the two were presently browsing what she figured were shampoos and conditioners. If she could get her hair back in order... She would definitely be cutting it, and soon.

".... What..." Dagger whispered as she turned the bottle of shampoo over in her hands. The words were written in Japanese, alien to her eyes but not alien to her ears. She sighed quietly, eyes wandering over the bottle. It was a grayish-white, with an outline of a person n the front.... It said 'The Shampoo' in fancy lettering at the top, but the rest was foreign. "... I guess... It works...." She pulled it into her arms.

"I'm not so sure about that one. How about this?" Another bottle was held out to her. The words were unreadable... She couldn't even see anything simple like 'shampoo' or 'conditioner' on it.

".... How expensive is it?"

"It's one of the cheaper options, promise." Dagger put the first bottle back, and gently took the second from the octopus. Whatever... If it was a prank, she'd deal with it in her own time. If it wasn't... Then hey, she got some sort of shampoo and/or conditioner for future weeks.

"... If this is a prank, I'll kill you." The words were out of her mouth without thought. A smile accompanied them- sweet and kind. She paused, immediately on edge. That was something she used to say to her brother, to her friends- but this was a guy expecting to be assassinated- he would take it seriously.

"Oh, will you now? I think you'll have to get in line." Green stripes. He took it seriously.

Damn it.

"If I get in that line, I think it'll be a few centuries before I'll have a shot to even try.... But that's not really on my plans." She started down the aisle. What was next on the list?... She had skipped over the soap since she already had some... So next was... A charger... And finishing off with candy.

"Oh?" Confusion... And mistrust. He didn't believe her in the slightest. Dagger turned. Her throat was beginning to itch, she'd have to pick up the pace... She continued walking backwards, shrugging before spinning around. Words couldn't be afforded when she was in public... The chances of her coughing and getting spit everywhere was a bit too high. She could just drop by the candy aisle, pick up some candy for herself (and some for Korosensei, since the guy had helped)... Drop by the front, get a charger as she paid... And she'd be good. She turned at the end of the aisle, making her way across the store in a bid to find the candy aisle. There was a faint rush of air.

"... I'm gonna run by the candy aisle,... You offered to come with, so... Feel free to pick out a package or two for yours-" The air nearly blasted her face into the next town. Korosensei was little more than a blur as he rushed to the candy aisle, reappearing in front of her with two large bags of candy in hand. Dagger blinked for a few seconds, before cautiously taking the bags he had offered to her. She shuffled around him, noting how the octopus was grinning- it wasn't sharper than usual, but somehow... Slightly fonder? She wasn't sure how to deal with that one. It had her heart increasing ever-so-slightly in speed. She cautiously ignored the sensation, instead pulling herself into the candy aisle... And immediately going for the chocolates.

She picked up three packages, deciding that would tide her over until the next paycheck. In total, she had five... Plus the bottle Korosensei had suggested. Including the charger... Well, she hoped that her bill would be covered by the money she got from her job. Dagger made her way to the front of the store, head hung low to hide her eyes. The mere thought of talking to another was enough to send her nerves scrambling. This wasn't like a fight with a Reaper Leviathan- this was unpredictable, and could have weird repercussions if she failed. She put all of her stuff on the counter.

"Will that be all?"

".... Yes, thank you..." The items were rung up in short order. The itch in her throat was getting worse. She was offered her total, and silently handed over her money. It was nowhere near enough to wipe out her entire paycheck... Huh. She moved to grab everything. Korosensei- in the public eye- didn't move fast enough to stop her. The itch morphed into a burn. She had to get back to base- "...thanks..." She slunk away from the store. The streets were crowded... Conversations, honking horns, everything she had forgotten... But she couldn't... It was getting worse-

"Are you feeling alright?"

"N-" She was going to cough. One thought.

Base. Both. NOW.

Her eyes shut. The sounds of the world around her fell away. The smell of car exhaust and breath replaced by the clean scent of titanium. The bags she had in her hands fell, but she never heard them hit the ground. Dagger started coughing.

" **Welcome back.** "

" **Warning. Self-scan advised.** " She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe- the world was lacking oxygen- her lungs were burning- " **Self-scan advised.** " Where- was- air-!? " **Warning: thirty seconds of oxygen remaining.** " She crumpled. " **Self-scan advised.** "

"Wh-! Dagger!-" Air. Lots of it. But it was sucked from her lungs in the rush, pulled straight out with her sanity. Her free hand moved shakily to her back pocket. The tablet appeared- she could feel the weight- and it dropped. The device clattered against the floor. Dagger fell to her knees. Her eyes were watering, lungs burning- she couldn't- pull in the air-

Her hand hit a button. She felt the bottle in her hand. It was uncapped, and she immediately put it to her mouth. Water ran down her chin, but also down her throat. She kept going, even as she began to choke-

The bottle was pulled away. Dagger wiped at her eyes, finally taking in a drag of air just as her consciousness had started to wink out. Her hands found the floor, and she coughed a few more times.... But the worst of it was over.

"... Dagger?" She opened her eyes. Everything was blurry, coated in a film of her own tears. That itch attempted to return, but she took the water bottle and drank greedily. The itch died down... And she could see a certain octopus-... And he had a teapot in hand? "... Wait for it to cool a little, then drink this." He gestured to the pot. Dagger blinked back a few tears. She wiped at her face yet again, trying to remove traces of the liquid from her eyes. Her throat was sated, for now... But it would undoubtedly come back to bite her later. "... Are you alright?" Dagger pushed one hand against the floor. Her tablet crackled against the metal... She picked it up... And threw it. It smashed against the far wall with a loud smack of metal-on-glass... But it didn't break. She was working on breathing.

She forced herself up to her feet. She was easily shrunk by Korosensei, a mere fraction of his height. Were it not for the calm yellow on his face, she would have been downright terrified. She had one hand around her chest, as if that would somehow stop the aching pain that rested in her lungs. The itch in her throat had gone down. She had teleported them to the room with the bioreactor... It was still on, making mush out of the lantern fruits she had given it that morning. She cast her sight away from it all, closing her eyes for a moment to sigh.

".... Telepor'..." She muttered. Dagger opened her eyes. She was in her bedroom, standing on the opposing side of the base from the bioreactor. Just down the corridor, she could see Korosensei, still standing as he had been- teapot in hand. He was turned around in the time it took her to blink. However, as he moved to join her, he kept at a slower, more human pace- walking at a speed that was frankly ridiculous for someone of his abilities. "... Bed's th'only surface..." She sat down beside the bed, gesturing for him to join her on the other side. The slide of rubber (or some similar material) on the carpeted sections of the floor didn't go unnoticed. Korosensei was there in a minute, gently laying the teapot down on the bed. His expression was perfectly unreadable... Unnerving.

"Teleporting, hm?" He pulled two teacups out from his robe (how the fuck) and rested them on the bed's frame. The teapot was gently hoisted in the air, and water began to pour... But it was tainted. Dagger could smell the sweetness from where she was sat. "I must admit, of all the things I was expecting of my fellow faculty- teleporting wasn't among my theories." He wrapped a tentacle around one of the teacups and held it out to Dagger. She took it without complaint. Dagger sniffed along the edge. Try as she might, the desire to immediately down the concoction was nearly too much to resist. She had had so little candy in so long... Dagger took a sip. Sweet and smooth... And it soothed the aching in her throat on impact. She stared down into the liquid, questioning just what she had properly drank. "Don't worry, it's just water and honey. Now, may I know as to how you came into possession of this ability of yours?"

"... No." Dagger spoke point-blank. "... Not yet." She took another sip of the honey-water. ".... Well... Not _everything_ , yet..." Her fingertips tapped the cup's wall. "... That will be known in due time... For now... As thanks for the honey-water..." She pulled back, letting her back relax as she fell further behind the bed's edge. "... Yes, I can teleport... The distance?... Quite a ways, believe it or not.. I need only picture a location in my mind's eye... Picture myself there... And I will be there. The task gives me a headache depending on how far I go..." She could nearly feel the traces of her universal teleport still pounding between her ears. "And... _**Apparently**_.." She raised her head, looking Korosensei dead in the eye. "... I can teleport other people too, so long as I picture them as well..."

"How _interesting_..." Korosensei took a sip of his honey-water... Could it be considered tea? Dagger wasn't quite sure. "I'm guessing then that you've had this ability for a while... At least a few days?" He tilted his head to the side, as best a questioning look as he could give. Dagger scoffed lightly.

".... Try nearly three years..." She whispered, soft, melancholic. Dagger shook her head. No, those were thoughts for another time- not for company. "Speaking of time... Any new news on the new student?"

"Yes!" Korosensei's head went back up to attention, his smile bright and cheerful. It was nearly like the octopus had a sort of aura that could go in any direction he chose, show any emotion he wanted. It certainly helped when his regular face was an unreadable mask of a grin. "His name is Karma Akabane.- Sharp as a whip, from what I was allowed to know~. I'm sure he'll make an excellent addition to the class.- I even got the day he's supposed to start!" Two of his tentacles were running up and down the sides of his face in curls. He was nearly like a mother, talking about her son coming back from some far-off place.

"... What day would that be?" She needed to know how long she had to prepare...

"Tomorrow!" She was dead in a number of manners. Karma, starting back, TOMORROW?- The kid was fun in the anime, sure, but he would be an absolute maniac in real life. Where she joked about death and murder while she was younger... Karma would actually mean it. She, however, would not be the target of his assassination attempts... Korosensei would be. And that brought with it a whole new slew of problems.- Like the changes she could cause, for one. The biggest would be if Karma jumped like he did last time. The action had been so insane to her when it was fiction... She wasn't even sure how it would affect her since it would now be real, and he would be one of her charges...

"... Good luck..." When had Karma even shown up?... Wasn't it during sixth period, with Karasuma?... But Karasuma wasn't even a gym teacher yet, he just sat in the teacher's lounge (presumably) and wrote all day... She could feel her panic over the next day trying to rise, but Dagger swallowed it down. "Although, knowing you, you'll just have fun..."

"Oh, I fully intend to!" Korosensei giggled, several of his tentacles intertwining as he let loose his jovial, impish laugh. "Another shining mind to teach the ways of assassination to? I couldn't ask for more if I tried!" He let his tentacles leave one another. Dagger took another sip of her drink, noting that the teacup was empty one millisecond... And full the next. She had one guess as to who did it... And a quick look up was all she needed to know. The teapot had been moved a fraction of an inch... But when one was so used to the exact same items for months on end...

"... We're greedy. We can always ask for more, there's no guarantee that we'll need what we ask for, though." Dagger took another sip. "... Honestly, it's slightly saddening to see the rush of people wanting new items and things day in and day out, but I can't really blame them." She exhaled. The itch in her throat was fully pacified, thank the Lord. "... Thank you for the honey-water, but I do wish for some time alone." That was about as blatant of a lie as she could offer. After all her time on 4546B, she was virtually screaming inside whenever she had to leave the others... But she couldn't just cling to them like a puppy. She had been able to see them during the day... And that was enough to sate the desire for interaction. Korosensei gave a light nod.

"Of course." He stood... Before suddenly vanishing, wind kicking up and smacking Dagger in the face. The front of her base creaked as the hinges were nearly torn straight off, before the front hatch slammed closed. Dagger fell back, crashing into the carpeted floor. Thankfully, she wasn't bruised- but damn if that wasn't unsettling. As she tried to stand to go check and make sure the bioreactor was alright... She noticed the teapot was still on the bed... As were both the teacups.

She'd have to return those tomorrow..- Ah.... But she couldn't- return the cup-.... Not with the bacteria undoubtedly on/in it now.... _Shit_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [That's right, soon.. We begin Karma's insanity~. I don't know how long that will take (maybe one chapter, maybe two, who even knows). For now... I'm gonna go play some Sonic Riders and relax~. I had alternate plans for this chapter, but I decided against them after a friend read over the chapter and let me know their thoughts. _You'll find out what those were in a later chapter...~_  
>  For now... Thank you for reading, thank you all for the hits, the kudos, and the bookmarks! It means so much to me that you guys are intrigued enough to read this story! ^^  
> That being said... I will see ya'll when/if I post the next chapter! ^^]


	12. Chapter 11: Puzzler (KS)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Another chapter as Korosensei~. Like I mentioned in the tags... Self-indulgent fanfic to the max! MWHAHAHAHA!  
> Also, I went 1k over my usual word count with this chapter... It's just two events from previous chapters (including the mass-cough-breakdown) but from K. S.'s POV. ^^]

It was so early... He was sure that no one would arrive- not even Karasuma for another hour or two. The man was punctual to a fault. Korosensei could rely on him to appear at the exact moment that the hour struck five. He had relaxed, somewhat... The latest batch of assassins had been dealt with (several now sporting brand new clothes, an octopus-style nail set, and other such precious edits). However... He noted a sudden scent-increase as he made his way down the schoolhall... Fish, salt... And illness. It was coming from the therapist room... He knew who it was, of course- the scent was... However... Less. He could detect lavender, underneath the others... It was at least better than the original smell. An improvement! He made his way towards the door, slow and cautious. Best not to startle the female awake, if she was sleeping. A soft, creaking floorboard told him she was awake.

A knock was all it took for him to get a response. He had half-expected her to be asleep... But no, the voice came- half-sentient, but there all the same.

"... You may come in." He smoothly transitioned into the room after opening the door, noting the anti-him knife still remained... Untouched... On the bookshelf nearby. If he didn't know better, he would think it was beginning to gather dust... Dagger herself was sitting down on the couch, her phone in hand. The light gave him more than ample opportunity to note the bags under her eyes.- And the slightest twitch of a leg... Unease.

"Good morning, Dagger!" He gave a slight bow, content to just have fun with the moment. She wasn't eating another odd fish, he noticed... And he also took a note of how her eyebrow quirked up. Ah, whatever could be on her mind? Maybe it had to do with a weakness of his!... Although the bags under her eyes and overall stooping posture told him she was in no condition to attack. But who knew? "I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who likes to get an early start on the day.. However, isn't this a tad _too_ early? It's not even five in the morning, yet." Dagger turned her phone off... Well, at least the blue light wouldn't be keeping her up.

"... Couldn'' sleep." Now if anything sounded like a cowgirl... That was it. Korosensei bit back the urge to laugh, or to record... Although it was certainly tempting. It was... Honestly, adorable. "... Gooh mornin' to y'too." She sounded out of it... And there was a faint crackle in her voice. A hint of panic. Night terrors?... Possibly. Or maybe she just couldn't sleep.

"... I suppose that's acceptable. Still, everyone needs sleep!" He waved a tentacle, as if brushing off the topic... But it was something that would stick for a while. A lack of sleep was unbecoming of anyone- student, assassin, teacher, target, or therapist. "I hope you're ready for this week! I heard from Karasuma that we're going to be adding a new, bright mind to the class!" Maybe that would be a fun note and ease her concerns? Korosensei could ho-

Recognition and immediate, startling **_panic_**. The recognition came from the slightest uptick of her eyebrows.. The fear... Was way too easy to smell. It was nearly as bad as the first day that he had appeared in the classroom, but nowhere near as bad as when he joked about her being from another planet. He wondered if she had had past experience with the student. Dagger's expression gradually softened, not that there was much to do aside from keeping her eyebrows from vanishing into her scalp.

"... A new studen'... Can't wait..." That lie was painfully obvious.- But it wasn't... It was strange. He could tell that she wasn't looking forward to interacting with the new one... And yet... There was a hint of understanding there. The barest sensation of a thrill. The scent read panic, the tone... A confused mixture. "... I'm sure he'll be... Interesting..." Dagger's eyes went down to her phone screen, even though it had been off for a bit now. She had used the term 'he'... So she did have experience with the child. Perhaps he had caused issues in the past?... But how could she have that kind of experience when her past- what was written on paper- was already so different from how she acted? Well... If she had past experience, maybe that was why she was reacting so negatively? Still, it was unbecoming of a therapist.

"Indeed! Although for now, I suppose all we can do is speculate. Who knows, maybe this new student will be just the spark to get everyone really trying to kill me~!" Dagger bit back a laugh. Precious. The faintest note of it sung in the air.- A hyena's giggle was the best thing he could relate it to.

"I'' put five bets on that." She grinned. Maybe one thing in that document had been accurate... The accent was definitely a strong indicator. "Buuuuh I'm nohonna risk it.... Mind letting me know how the new kid does? Adjustments n' all thah." The phone was put down. Korosensei was milliseconds from laughing. The accent obviously came out when she was more tired, but it was just too humorous to see someone so quiet and distant sounding like one of the most open-book ladies on the street.

"I wouldn't mind at all!" His tentacles started slithering across the floor, from one area to the next. Excitement intermixed with his other emotions. "But I don't know what day the new student will start, so you'll just have to wait and see~." He prayed that it would be as soon as possible- he only had so much time to mold each mind~! "Until then... I will see you later, and..." As he turned to leave, Korosensei glanced over his shoulder. "... Do try to get some rest." The words were quieter than he intended... He wasn't even sure if Dagger heard. Still, he shut the door (softly) behind himself.

[]

The day had definitely gone more strangely than expected. Craziest of all was that he had ended up on an outing with Dagger. Usually, he would have opted to just fly to wherever he wanted and go in incognito, but this time he settled for something gentler. He had allowed Dagger to walk, deciding that the time taken to get down the mountain could serve to further their relationship as coworkers. However... He had not been prepared to learn that Dagger was insane. A filtration machine, he could understand... But the ability to teleport? Even for one of his powers, that was nigh impossible. It was humorous, however, to see others attempt to guess at how his abilities worked (one of the earlier guesses had been teleportation, after all). She spoke with such confidence, as if what she spoke of was absolutely real...

The therapist needed a therapist.

And now, as they shopped (with Korosensei in disguise) he started picking up on other oddities. She stayed far away from any other person, constantly to herself... She would jump at a clattering can three aisles over, reaching for.. Something. He wasn't sure what. He would have to see about motivating her to see a therapist.. Or attempting the case himself, which could hardly go well given his current predicament.- Wait... What- what predicament- nope. Something to think about later, when he was on his own and not clouded by outside voices. He looked over the array of shampoos and conditioners, having read them all a hundred times over by now. They were all... Well, simple. Some were two-in-one, some were extra strength, some were for thicker hair, some softer... He noticed one in specifics that claimed to be able to deal with knots... And immediately picked it up.

"... I guess... It works...." Dagger had pulled a rather plain bottle of shampoo into her arms. Korosensei cautiously held out the other bottle- a tinge of gold and pink with flower print- to her to read... Although it was all in Japanese, so given her earlier statement, it was unlikely she could read any of it. He was just going to speak when-

".... How expensive is it?"

"It's one of the cheaper options, promise." He offered a reassuring smile... That was outright ignored. That... Hurt.

"... If this is a prank, I'll kill you." It was spoken so casually! Not the kind of casual he expected from someone who's anti-him dagger was presently collecting dust. It was, however, expected of his fellow faculty members. Ah, so finally she showed her true colors~. This would definitely be a fun game of seeing who gave in first~.

"Oh, will you now? I think you'll have to get in line." He could feel the green circling his head, but confusion marred his mind when the other's expression became fearful... _Concerned_. She had just stated she'd kill him if it was a prank, and now she was worried about her words?... Probably first-kill jitters.

"If I get in that line, I think it'll be a few centuries before I'll have a shot to even try.... But that's not really on my plans." Then what was? Messing around? Sending as many mixed signals as humanly possible? He'd fixed one of the jets at a camp before that was screwed up, and even that thing had less confusing statements than she did.

"Oh?" Dagger moved away from him, turning and making her way down the aisle. He followed with relative ease as she pulled out into the back of the store, and began making her way towards.. The candy aisle. It was all he could do to restrain himself from buying every single candy in the place. Maybe something he'd do later, as a treat~!

"... I'm gonna run by the candy aisle,... You offered to come with, so... Feel free to pick out a package or two for yours-" **_WELL IF SHE WAS OFFERING_** \- Korosensei was off like a blast, going faster than the cameras in the building could record. He wasted no time in finding the candies in the store he was most intrigued by. Had she said two? Then he'd pick two! The giddiness that rose in his thoughts was only paused by the fact that he had left his payer in the proverbial dust. He spun 'round, racing back to be before her with the chosen bags in hand. Dagger... Slowly, quietly, took the bags he offered. She had offered to pay~! Karasuma hadn't done that, and he was sure that he and the military man had had more time together than he had with Dagger. He could feel a trace more fondness entering his permanent grin as Dagger made her own selections.

The female also picked up a charger up front... But as they got closer to the checkout, Korosensei smelled fear. It was coming off of Dagger in waves, battery acid that flowed through the store... And she had tightened her grip... Her fingers were all shoved into themselves, fists keeping her from something unknown... A shudder. It was nearly imperceptible, but for him, it may as well have been in slow motion (okay, it was). Something was going on.

"Will that be all?"

".... Yes, thank you..." The items were rung up... But Dagger's hold was getting tighter. She gave over some of her money, barely seeming to pay attention as the bills were counted out and redistributed as need be. A slight red tinge had entered her face as she borderline jogged for the door. Korosensei being what he was, kept up easily. They were outside in short order, standing on the sidewalk while people milled about around them and cars honked nearby. A typical day, coming to a close... With rush hour. But, Dagger's grip on the bags was now white-knuckled, and the red had gone from a light dusting to a coat.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"N-" And that was when it happened. It was sudden, even by his standards, which was enough to send him into a mild panic. One second he was standing on the street beside Dagger, the next, he was in a strange metal room. There was a big device in the center, and a strange, unknown tree growing in the corner. He scarcely had time to react before the bags that Dagger had been holding fell from her grasp. Korosensei caught them, setting them to the side as lightly as he could while Dagger... Started... Coughing.

" **Welcome back.** " After the teleport(?!), the voice coming from the ceiling nearly made Korosensei screech in blind fear. It was robotic- automated. He just barely held himself together, instead scrunching back. Dagger's coughs were getting worse. The red in her face only grew in intensity, as did the power of each wracking hack.

" **Warning. Self-scan advised.** " Dagger's face was slowly changing color, and not in a fun way. "Self-scan advised. **Warning: thirty seconds of oxygen remaining.** " Dagger folded over, hands on her stomach. " **Self-scan advised.** "

"Wh-! Dagger!-" He vanished for a second, right out of the building. It took less than a glimpse of his form of moment to tell where he was- and how close the nearest building was. They were less than two milliseconds from Class 3-E's building (in his perspective). He shot towards the schoolbuilding, whipping into the teacher's lounge and finding a teapot hidden under his desk. It had been for holding glue in for a class project down the line, but right now, it had a very different purpose. He blasted through his supplies, finding some water in a bottle and a jar of honey. Both were summarily emptied into the teapot, and Korosensei set to heating it up while he raced back, stirring with an unused pencil as he went. He dashed back into the building, just in time to see Dagger's hand go to her back pocket, which was empty... And watch as a tablet flashed into existence, hitting the floor.

Dagger's hand went over a button on the screen. It was like someone paused the frame, edited in a water bottle, and then continued it- one second there, the previous not. Korosensei was freaking out internally. He had never (in his time since gaining the tentacles) met anyone who moved at a speed that surpassed his... And yet here Dagger was, a heap on the floor, having done two acts in the span of three minutes that even he couldn't quite catch. Either her story about teleporting and being from another planet held weight... Or she was hiding something much, much worse. As the water began to spill down her front in small rivulets, he noticed something even worse. The faintest impression of green on her skin- it wasn't everywhere... Just in spots. But it concentrated the lower down her neck it went, before vanishing under her top. Her hands had small numbers of the green marking as well- and on closer inspection, so did her face. She coughed on the water, beginning to choke. Korosensei took that moment to wrap a tentacle around the item and pull it away, before she killed herself with whatever water she'd just summoned.

Dagger wiped at her eyes, which had become puffy and watery since the start of her problems. She finally pulled in the deepest breath she could manage, a few more coughs escaping her as she did. Dagger... Was definitely sick. There was no mistaking it- but if she insisted on being on campus, it had to be nontransferable- right?

"... Dagger?" The water and honey had mixed quite nicely by now. They were warmed thanks to his own actions with the teapot (he was lucky it didn't break). It would take a minute to cool down, but... "... Wait for it to cool a little, then drink this." He gestured to the pot. Her eyes had opened, revealing bloodshot hazel hues that stared in confusion and shock. The fear in her was replaced with an unknown knowledge. A line had been crossed that she had had no intent of crossing, and he knew it. "... Are you alright?" She went to stand up, by his guess... But her hand ran along the tablet, causing it to crackle on the floor. In the next moment, it was being flung. He watched in slow-motion as it crashed into the wall... And received no damage. Something to question her over later, but right now, she needed to recover. The list of questions in his mind was quickly outgrowing the list of answers, and that... Was intriguing and exciting.- But a little distressing...

Dagger stood, a hand on her chest. Based on the riggidity of her form, it was safe to assume that she was still in pain- still recuperating. She looked around the room, resignation crossing her face even as she closed her eyes and looked away. Korosensei wasn't quite sure what to make of that. Was this what she had been planning?- Was this an assassination attempt? If so, allowing him to get his bearings was a rather short-sighted thing to do~.. But she hadn't pulled out a weapon yet, nor had he been shot at... So there was only one way to see how this would go.

".... Telepor'..." And she was gone. Her smell became stronger from behind him, so he spun around... And there she was, standing beside a small bed. He started moving in her direction, slower as to not startle. "... Bed's th'only surface..." She sat down beside the bed, gesturing for him to join her on the other side. He took note of how the floor was an interwoven frame of carpet and metal... The whole place reeked of fish, salt, and illness... And the walls were tainted with titanium, but at a purer form than he'd ever found before on the planet. He sat down opposite Dagger, and rested the teapot on the bed. Korosensei was careful to keep it from outright falling.

"Teleporting, hm?" He pulled two teacups out from his robe and rested them on the bed's frame. The confused flash that crossed Dagger's eyes was worth it. He moved to pouring the honey-water, letting the silence stretch as he did while he gathered his thoughts. He had to approach this carefully... The other hadn't attempted to kill him yet, so he had some time to pick her brain... Plus, if he was lucky, he could figure out how to replicate the move or tech in question. "I must admit, of all the things I was expecting of my fellow faculty- teleporting wasn't among my theories." A teacup was offered to Dagger... Which she took. She sniffed cautiously along the edge. Korosensei watched. Was she expecting it to be laced with poison? Please, he wasn't one to use such tactics... As of late.... At least she took a sip a few moments later, albeit with a reluctance that didn't go unnoticed. "Don't worry, it's just water and honey. Now, may I know as to how you came into possession of this ability of yours?"

"... No." Dagger's answer was nothing if not direct. "... Not yet." She took another sip of the honey-water. ".... Well... Not _everything_ , yet..." Her fingertips tapped the cup's wall. "... That will be known in due time... For now... As thanks for the honey-water..." Dagger seemed to sink behind her side of the bed frame. "... Yes, I can teleport... The distance?... Quite a ways, believe it or not.. I need only picture a location in my mind's eye... Picture myself there... And I will be there. The task gives me a headache depending on how far I go..." Quite a ways?.... Perhaps her story held merit... Or she was part of some thought experiment by the government. Korosensei neglected to sip from his own teacup. If the other was sick with something causing coughs that bad... It would be best to let her have the remedy, although holding the cup for reassurance was nice. "And... _**Apparently**_.." She raised her head, looking Korosensei dead in the eye. "... I can teleport other people too, so long as I picture them as well..." That would explain that~... But he didn't quite believe it, not yet.

"How _interesting_..." Korosensei took a sip of his honey-water. It was a strange change of pace, going from killing and being killed to sitting down to have a drink with someone who had been hacking up a lung only a few minutes prior. "I'm guessing then that you've had this ability for a while... At least a few days?" He tilted his head to the side, as best a questioning look as he could give. The scoff he earned was off-putting.

".... Try nearly three years..." _THREE **YEARS**?!_ "Speaking of time... Any new news on the new student?"

"Yes!" Well, if she wanted a topic change... Then he would oblige, for now~.... But one day, he would want to know more. "His name is Karma Akabane.- Sharp as a whip, from what I was allowed to know~. I'm sure he'll make an excellent addition to the class.- I even got the day he's supposed to start!" Two of his tentacles were running up and down the sides of his face in curls. He couldn't help the excitement that seeped into his voice. The new student was sure to make the others more interested in killing him~, of that he was certain! But he could only hope that would spark their desire to learn as well as kill~. One did not exist without the other in their class, after all!

"... What day would that be?" Restraint and caution. Hm...

"Tomorrow!" Dagger blanched. Korosensei didn't move from his spot, but he was tempted. The fear that came up was more subdued, but still present.

"... Good luck..." Oh, he would have fu- "Although, knowing you, you'll just have fun..." Correct!

"Oh, I fully intend to!" He giggled, several of his tentacles intertwining as he let loose his jovial, impish laugh. "Another shining mind to teach the ways of assassination to? I couldn't ask for more if I tried!" He let his tentacles leave one another. Dagger's drink was nearly empty... Well, that wouldn't do. She may have been on the temporary mend- but she needed to let her throat rest. In what was a blink of an eye for her, he had refilled the teacup, and put the teapot down where he recalled leaving it- but he had other things on his mind at present.

"... We're greedy. We can always ask for more, there's no guarantee that we'll need what we ask for, though." Well said... "... Honestly, it's slightly saddening to see the rush of people wanting new items and things day in and day out, but I can't really blame them.... Thank you for the honey-water, but I do wish for some time alone." She was lying. Korosensei, still, nodded lightly. Some things were best not to force, of that he could relate.

"Of course." Korosensei stood.... And dashed. He had much on his mind to contemplate, especially concerning how their afternoon out had devolved into an evening in. He rushed through the air, spinning a few circles short of a tornado before touching down outside of the class's building. The day had definitely given him some food-for-thought... For one, Dagger could technically match up to his speed with repeated teleports- but her actual reaction time would never come close. She had that odd tablet that could make items appear out of thin air.. The more he thought about it, the more she sounded like a character from fiction... Then again, he wasn't much better (a yellow flying octopus that could move at Mach 20? Please). Maybe he'd be able to score another hangout with her down the line... That thought had a slight pink hue rising to his face, one he tried (and failed) to eradicate.

The two were strange in their own ways... Both mysterious, pasts not entirely known... And with abilities that should have defied all physics, and yet they both existed.-

The smell of gunmetal made itself known, as he slithered towards the building...

Ah, something to take his mind off things~...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Trying to write Korosensei's POV is.... I N T E R E S T I N G to say the least.  
> Next chapter... We start the chaos with Karma, hopefully~. And I'll be (probably) back to Dagger's POV, but we'll see... I've been trying to keep a rough timeline of how long the Karma Time episode lasts for, and I think it takes place over a minimum of two days, maximum of three... The three would be more symbolic, but the two would make more sense for how things progress in the anime. <_<; I'll figure it out.  
> And y e s I'm staring to push ship- piece by piece- I'm still a bit worried about the timing:tm:, but legitimately I think I'm somewhere in the middle for pacing?... Also, congrats to those of you who survived the chapters on planet 4546B. We will be returning there eventually (because of course) but for now I think I'll more heavily focus my chapters on Earth- and the classroom.... Andshipping-  
> Thank you to those of you who read this disaster, and I look forward to seeing you in the next chapter, if/when I post it~....]

**Author's Note:**

> [Thank you for reading! ^^]


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